


Antiquity

by Eclair_Designs



Category: Psych
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Prequel, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-07
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 11:39:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 58,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/673982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eclair_Designs/pseuds/Eclair_Designs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prequel to Coping- Cassidy Reed always lived by the strict rules of her father. Before her father arrives home from the military, Cassidy meets a troublesome boy named Shawn Spencer who slowly brings her out of her shell. Slowly, Cassidy starts to develop feelings for him, feelings she never knew she had. But when Cassidy’s father arrives home unexpectedly, things become a little more complicated for the two. </p><p>Cassidy’s father doesn’t approve of Shawn and refuses to have those two together and forces her to break all ties with the troublesome boy in fear that all the hard work Cassidy has put into her sharpshooting and defensive training will go to waste, but Cassidy refuses to listen and begins to go against her father’s wishes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay, well trying this out for the moment. I want to see how well this does before I decide to progress any further with this. This is the prequel to Coping (A Psych Story), hence the title. The sequel to Coping is slowly being updated, but I’m not too pleased with it. I might even consider putting it on Hiatus once again or do a total re-do. Haven’t decided…we’ll see.
> 
> In all honesty, I’ve had this story written for a while now. I wanted my readers to know a little more of Cassidy’s past. If you haven’t read Coping I suggest you do first, it will make a lot more sense, Please, please let me know what you think of this. If you enjoy I will continue to update.
> 
> I really went easy on my last story, time to spice it up a bit. We’re all adults and young adults, I’m pretty sure you can tolerate it.
> 
> NOTE: This takes place like around 11 years before Coping ended. Cassidy is about 16-17 in this story, Shawn back in his younger days when he left Santa Barbara. No Psychic business going on, just a keen eye for detail. Sorry Shules fans, there is none of that in this, total OFC.
> 
> I do NOT, repeat do NOT own Psych. I own Cassidy Reed along with a few other OC’s I created.

Chapter 1: Meeting

“Come on, it’ll be tons of fun, besides Jason will be there and he’s way into you.” She persisted.

Cassidy placed the final chair upside down on the table and wheeled to her best friend, furious. “I thought he was sick?” She cried loudly. “Dang it, I wouldn’t have covered for him if I knew he was going to be attending some stupid frat party. I have to work tomorrow Becca, not to mention a major homework assignment due Monday!”

Becca rolled her eyes. “Ditch the homework Cassidy,” She said. “You’ll never get laid if you keep drowning yourself in your studies. Live a little and come hang out with us. Besides, your dad won’t be arriving home for another four months. He’ll never know.”

Cassidy stared at Becca as though she had lost her mind. If her father got wind of her acting out like some wild banshee, he would literally beat her down to the ground once he arrived home. And it was something she was not willing to risk, not ever.

“Becca, you know my father. Partying is not tolerated as long as I live under his roof, his house his rules. He’ll blow a gasket if he finds out I was out late at night goofing around. Besides, I don’t like trotting around flaunting all my goods like some slut, no offense.” Cassidy said flatly.

“Cassidy Leanne Reed, did you just call me a slut?” She laughed.

“You know I was only joking.” She said. “Besides, someone has to finish the job around here. Go, I’ll finish cleaning and lock up before I head home.”

Becca threw her arms around Cassidy and hugged her tightly. “You’re such a good friend, that’s why I love you so much.” She said. “I’ll see you in class first thing Monday.”

Cassidy pulled back and smiled weakly. “Just be careful. Don’t do anything stupid, okay. If you happen to get yourself into a dangerous situation, make sure you use what I taught you. And if you two decide to have…well you know, make sure you use protection.” She rambled.

“Yes mother.” She scoffed jokingly.

Cassidy pursed her lips as she watched her friend walk out of the diner. Sighing, she grabbed the mop out of the bucket and wringed out the excess water and pressed play on her walkman, continuing back to another long night at work.

~PSYCH~

Closed shops and pools of light surrounded by darkness raced by as he flew along the abandon street, after minutes of running he stopped, panting for breath. He could see his breath leave his mouth, as he gasped for air. His lungs felt like thousands of needles were penetrating them as the freezing air entered his body. The footsteps echoed along the street as they were catching up to him. He noticed a street lamp was out, darkening the alley that was up ahead.

He jogged the rest of the way, his calves on fire as he entered the alley and hid behind a dumpster. “Shit, where did he go?” The dark voice questioned.

“I don’t know, but he couldn’t have gone far.” A second voice replied, their footsteps fading as they ran off in the other direction. Sighing in relief, he stood up and walked cautiously out of the alley. Before he reached the street, He took a few steps back as he heard a voice a few feet away. “Cassidy, don’t forget to lock up before you leave.” Said the hoarse voice. “Cassidy, did you hear me?” He repeated irritably. “Damn kid.” Throwing his hands up in annoyance he left, the door slowly closing behind him.

He took this as his opportunity to hide until the coast was clear and grabbed the door from closing and quietly went in, softly closing the door behind him. He took a look around at his surroundings and noticed it was a small diner, the smell of coffee and grease filling the air. He noticed a girl probably in her mid to late teens dancing around the diner, mopping the floor, listening to music on her walkman.

He chuckled and shook his head, taking a seat at a booth beside him. He watched her body swayed as she danced to her music. When she turned around she let out a surprised yelp and dropped the mop, placing a hand on her chest. Guess I caught her by surprise. He thought. She quickly removed her headphones, and glanced at the clock on the wall to the left of her. “Uh, you do realize were closed right?” She asked.

 

He slowly nodded his head. She was beautiful, correction, drop dead gorgeous. She had light complected skin, and long brown hair that reached down to her elbows, but what grabbed his attention the most were her eyes. They were a brown color, with a touch of gold in them. They held warmth and compassion, but had a hint of seriousness in them.

He noticed on the front of her jeans, she had a few grass stains and a residue on her sleeves. He also caught a glimpse of the red mark on the right side of her cheek.

“If you know we’re closed then please leave, unless you’re here to rob me. My boss already put the money in the safe, which I have no clue as to what the combination is. If you want to try dragging it out, by all means try, but you won’t get very far with it.” She said bluntly.

He smirked at her remark. “I’m not here to rob you. I just need a place to hide out for a few minutes if you don’t mind. Besides, if I was here to rob you, you would have probably grabbed the gun under the register and shoot me down without hesitation,” He retorted, looking through the mirror’s reflection, revealing the gun under the counter.

“What makes you think I know how to use a gun, and why are you squinting your eyes like that?” She asked curiously.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You have grass stains on the front of your body, which means you’re lying on your stomach. You have a red mark on the right side of your cheek, most likely caused by the rifle you’re holding, and the residue on your sleeves is from the shots you fired earlier.”

“What’re you a cop?” She asked, arching an eyebrow. “If not, you really have a keen eye for detail, it’s very impressive.”

He shook his head, and brushed his long bangs away from his forehead. “No, I’m not a cop. Let’s just say I had some unwanted training.” He muttered.

She placed her hands on her hips, and let out a sigh. “Well anyway, why do you need to hide out here? Are you in some kind of trouble?” She asked anxiously. “Should I call the cops?”

He was about to reply, when he heard the door open abruptly. “There you are you punk. Give me my money!” The man panted, his face red with anger,

She gave the mysterious young man an uneasy look and turned her attention back to the two males standing in front of her. He slowly turned his head and smiled at the men. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I think you got me confused with someone else.” He said in a mocking tone. The other male shut the blinds to the windows and locked the front door. “Don’t play stupid with me you little shit, you lost the bet. Now pay up!” He shouted, pulling him out of the booth, throwing him onto the floor, punching him in the face,

“Hey, you two need to leave right now or I’m calling the cops!” The waitress threatened. The two men turned their attention to the waitress and gave her a hard glare.

“You need to shut up or you’ll be next.” He threatened back, pointing an angry finger at her.

“Why don’t you try and make me?” She retorted, taking a step forward.

The man that punched the young man in the face nodded his head in the direction of the waitress, signaling the second man behind him to take care of her. “Wait, she has nothing to do with this. Leave her out of it. She’s not your problem, I am.” He argued.

Ignoring his plea, the second man went around him, approaching the waitress slowly. “She should have kept her mouth shut.” He spat. “Do you know what we do to pretty little girls like you?” He mused, smiling sadistically, shifting the front of his pants. “We punish them. Are you going to show us a good time, without putting up a major struggle?” 

Fearing for the worst, the young man tried to stand up, but the guy kneed him in the gut, knocking the air out of him, causing him to fall back onto the floor. “Stop, don’t touch her!” He gasped. “Please.”

She stood her ground, fear not evident in her eyes. The man spun her around, pushing her forward onto a table. “We are going to have so much fun.” He growled, licking his lips. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, as he began unbuttoning his jeans.

The other guy sneered down at the young man, and pulled him up by the collar. “Now you get to watch, while we take turns with her. You should have paid up you piece of shit.” He growled, punching him once again, splitting his lip. He blinked back, as darkness began to engulf him. He heard a loud pitched scream as the male that was holding her down quickly stumbled back. The young man got his bearings straight enough to see what was going on. He had a fork pierced through his thigh. She quickly grabbed the steel napkin dispenser on the table and turned around smacking him across the face, causing him to fall on the ground, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth.

“You little b**ch, look what you did!” The man in front of him growled. He pulled out a switch blade and was approaching her quickly. Causing her to take a few steps back, putting her hands up in a defensive manner. The young man took this as his opportunity and grabbed a chair from the table, hitting him in the back of the head knocking him unconscious. “Are you alright?” He asked worriedly, dropping the chair to the side.

She gave me a small smile and nodded, straightening out her uniform. She turned her attention back down at the man that was about to rape her. “My daddy always says, never let a guy take advantage of a woman, and let him do to her as he pleases.” She whispered, glaring down at the man. “Scum like you, don’t need to walk the streets.” She said kneeling down to his level.

He was amazed as this girl’s courage. She had no fear of the man sitting down before her. He found it strangely attractive. He shook my head of such thoughts, and averted his attention back to the two. She pulled the fork out of the man’s thigh, causing him to cry out, throwing his head back in pain, “We’re a little short on forks right now, so I’m going to need this back,” She smirked. “This is what you’re going to do.” She began. “You see this gentleman standing right behind me?”

The man nodded his head vigorously. “Whatever debt he owes you doesn’t exist anymore. I can call the cops right now, and have you two arrested for assault and for sexual assault. So you’re going to take your little friend there-“She said gesturing towards the unconscious man. “And get as far away from here as possible, and if I ever catch you two back around here again, you’ll be sorry. Do you understand?” She asked.

The man stared wide-eyed at her, and nodded his head in agreement and crawled over to his friend lying on the floor. “And for god’s sake, pull up your damn pants.” She said brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. The young man watched as the man pulled his friend up, quickly leaving the diner, pulling his pants up on the way out.

“Are you okay?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

He turned to look at her and nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just having trouble believing what I just witnessed.” He laughed. “He got his ass handed to him by a girl.”

Her face flushed red from embarrassment and grabbed his arm, leading him to a booth. “Sit.” She ordered. He obeyed, not wanting to piss her off more than she was and sat down, watching her walk into the back. He could hear her rummaging through something on the other side of the door. A minute later she came back with something frozen in her hand and gently placed it on his eye. “This should stop the swelling a little.” She said softly. 

He noticed her hands were shaking. She put on a good poker face, but he could tell she was scared out her mind. “I’m sorry for dragging you into that.” He whispered.

She met his gaze and shook her head. “It’s no problem, just lending a helping hand to someone who needed it.” She said giving me a smile.

“I’m Shawn Spencer.” He blurted out.

She giggled. “Cassidy…Cassidy Reed, Its nice meeting you Shawn Spencer.” She said extending her hand so he could shake it, which he gratefully took.

“Would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime?” He asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t like coffee, it’s too bitter.” She replied bluntly.

“Well then, how about a smoothie? I know this great place a couple blocks down that have the best tasting smoothies I’ve ever had.” He grinned.

She removed the frozen piece of meat from his eye, contemplating as to what to say. “I don’t know, my father says I shouldn’t get involved with troublesome boys. He says they’re a bad influence.”

He smirked. “Do you always listen to what daddy has to say?”

She scoffed and placed the frozen piece of meat back onto his eye, adding more force than necessary, causing him to wince. “No,” She said. “My shift ends tomorrow at six, and it’s not to be considered a date.”

He let out a small chuckle. “Sure.”


	2. Bad Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews please! Kuddos too!!

“What!?”

The unnecessary shouting from Becca and Jason didn’t go unnoticed in the small dinner causing a few heads to turn in their direction, giving them mixed looks. Sighing, Cassidy placed a hand over their mouth to silence them.

“Will you two please pipe down,” She hissed. “You’re drawing unwanted attention in our direction. That’s all we need is more customers to file more complaints to the manager on how loud you two are being.”

As Becca removed Cassidy’s hand away from her mouth, Jason licked Cassidy’s hand in return, earning him a look of disgust from her. “So did you scream at all?” Becca said. “You know, just like other girls would?”

“Nope,” She said proudly. “I gave them a good bashing…well one of them.”

Becca sighed. “Just as I expected,”

“It’s good that you were unharmed,” Jason said. “But please don’t act so impulsively again. You might not be so fortunate next time,”

Cassidy smiled. “I’m sorry, for making you guys worry like that.” She said. “But it’s fine. I can handle myself pretty well. It’s what I was trained to do.”

Becca jumped on the counter and grinned. “So, when do I get to meet this Shawn guy?” She asked curiously.

Jason shot Cassidy a disapproving glance which she ignored as he walked around the counter to check on his tables. Cassidy shrugged and leaned against the counter next to Becca. “He’s supposed to stop by after my shift at six.” She said. “But who knows, he might not even show up.”

“What’s he like?” She smirked. “Is he cute?”

Cassidy flushed and looked at Becca. “Well, he’s-“

Becca held up a hand, gesturing Cassidy to stop speaking. “Let me guess, he’s got a bad boy look to him, long hair and a piercing on the left ear.” She said.

Cassidy arched an eyebrow and gave her friend a puzzled look. “That is spot on, with scary precision.” She said. “How did you know?”

“Because he just walked in,” She grinned.”Man, you sure do know how to pick’em.”

Cassidy turned her head to see the young man she encountered the previous night. She glanced at her watch and realized he was two hours early and wondered if this guy was a plain out moron who forgot what time to show up or if he was completely bored with his life and had nothing in life to entertain him for two measly hours.

Becca jumped off the counter. “He’s all yours.” She said, shoving Cassidy forward. “Go on, don’t be shy.”

Cassidy took a step back and turned around to her friend with a pleading look. “I swear I won’t ever ask you to do anything for me ever again if you take this one off my hands.” She pleaded. “Please, Becca.”

Becca frowned and grabbed a menu off of the rack and shoved it into Cassidy’s hands. “You’ll thank me for this someday Cassidy,” She said as she grabbed her best friends arm and lugged her in Shawn’s direction. Cassidy jerked her arm from Becca’s tight grasp and pleaded with her once more. Becca shook her head and shoved her forward.

“So you’re the gambling junkie Cassidy’s been talking about.” Becca said, extending her hand. Cassidy could feel her mouth dropping at Becca’s words and flustered from embarrassment. Shawn grinned and took Becca’s hand and shook it.

“Yep, that’s me.” He said.

“Cassidy will be your server for today and will find you a table, wont you Cassie?” She said glancing at her friend. Cassidy glared in return but nodded. “Don’t mind Cassidy, she’s shy with every new person she comes in contact with. Once she gets to know ya, she’ll open up more.”

Becca gave Cassidy a swift pat on the back and ran to the back to find Jason, leaving her all alone with the man. “So, gambling junkie?” Shawn chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

Cassidy’s face grew redder each second and gazed into his stunning eyes. “I’m so sorry,” She apologized. “Apparently that girl can’t keep a secret even if her life depended on it.”

Shawn shrugged. “No worries,” He replied casually. “I’ve been called a lot worse.”

Cassidy turned and gestured Shawn to follow her and placed him at the nearest available booth, placing the menu gently down in front of him. “Let me make it up to you,” She insisted. “Whatever you order plus the smoothies we’re getting after my shift is on me.”

He shrugged once again. “Sounds fair,” He said taking a quick glance down at the menu. “I’ll take a coffee.”

Cassidy gaped. “What, that’s it?” She cried is disbelief. “I’m serious, choose whatever you want.”

Shawn smiled. “I did,” He said. “I want a coffee.”

She rolled her eyes and yanked the menu from Shawn’s hands. “If that’s what you want,” She muttered. “It’ll be right out.”

Cassidy could feel his eyes on her as she walked into the back and inwardly scolded herself for her stupidity. She placed the menu on the counter and opened the double doors to the kitchen and smacked Becca upside the head. “Remind me to kill you later,” Cassidy hissed. “You can’t keep your mouth shut for nothing. I looked like a fool out there.”

Becca laughed and gave Cassidy a side hug. “Oh come on.” She said. “I did you a favor. Besides, he’s totally into you. He was checking you out on your way back here. Now be nice and bring the man what he wants.”

Cassidy frowned and slammed the ceramic cup down onto the metal counter and grabbed the coffee pot and poured the dark liquid into the cup. “I can’t even look at him now without feeling embarrassed.” She said. “I offered to buy him whatever he wanted off the menu to make up for it and all he ordered was a freakin’ cup of coffee, coffee! I don’t know if I should be offended or what.”

Becca handed her a tray to place the cup on. “Just give the guy his coffee,” She said, “Be nice and wear a smile.”

Nodding, Cassidy took a deep breath and pushed open the double doors, but stopped briefly to grab him a piece of apple cinnamon pie before walking back to his table. “Here you go. I thought you could use a little pie to go with that coffee.” She said softly as she placed the cup of coffee and the small plate down in front of him, and then took a step back. “Would you like anything else?”

He shook his head. “Nope,” He replied, with a mouth full of pie, causing Cassidy to grimace with disgust. “Thanks,”

“Sure,” She said. “I’ll check up on you in a bit.”

~Antiquity~

“Is he just going to sit there until your shift ends or what?” Jason frowned.

Cassidy and Becca peered through the tiny space in between the flap doors. “He’s been sitting there for over an hour just staring at you.” Becca said. “You think he might be some type of crazy psycho stalker?”

Cassidy slapped Becca’s arm. “Hush,” She whispered. “He doesn’t even give off that kind of vibe…at least not to me anyway.”

Becca twirled a strand of Cassidy’s hair around her finger, “Admit it,” She said. “You’re beginning to like him.”

Cassidy glanced up at Becca before taking another peak out the flap doors. “God no,” She said. “He’s not even my type. I honestly don’t know why I said yes to him in the first place, maybe it was just the heat of the moment kind of thing or maybe I just didn’t want to give off a bad impression. And besides, even if he did happen to be my type, there’s no way in hell my father would approve of him.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Becca said, nodding. “I mean look at him, he’s a complete mess with his greasy long hair, his one day old stubble and that horrid piercing…he’s just asking for trouble.”

“I actually don’t mind the one day stubble, I find it rather…cute.” Cassidy said. Jason ran his hand down his smooth face and frowned. Becca smiled up at Jason and shook her head, mouthing him and silent ‘idiot’. “Though, he really could do something with that hair of his and that god awful piercing.”

Shawn’s hand reached up to his left ear and touched the ear ring then moved his hand to his hair for inspection. Cassidy and Becca gasped and quickly moved away from the door. “Oh crap, do you think he heard us?” Becca gasped.

Cassidy placed both of her hands over her mouth and nodded. “I think he did,” She said, her face as red as a ripe tomato.

“Good job on making yourselves look like complete asses, ladies.” Jason laughed, pushing through the double doors.

“Well on the bright side, it’s you going out on the date and not me.” Becca said, placing a hand on Cassidy’s shoulder. “Good luck.”

“It’s not a date.” Cassidy mumbled. “Do me a favor…”

“You want me to grab the knife off the counter and plunge it through your chest?” She grinned. “Okay!”

“No…well maybe…” She replied. “But no, really I need you to-“

“I’ve already taken care of everything.” Becca said. “I told your mom you were coming over to my house this evening after work to ‘study’ for the upcoming test this Monday, so she’s not expecting you home till late tonight. I never thought the day would come that I would have to lie to your mother about you going on a date with a hoodlum. I’ve never been so proud. You’re growing up so fast.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” She said. “I’ll see you at school.”

With dreaded steps, Cassidy grabbed her coat and made her way over to Shawn’s table. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” She said. “I’m ready when you are.”

Shawn slid out along his booth and smiled down at Cassidy. “Awesome, let’s go.”

Cassidy glanced over her shoulder to see Becca standing behind the counter with a huge grin plastered on her face, giving her thumbs up as she walked out the door. Cassidy inwardly sighed. This was going to be a long, awkward night.


	3. It's Just A Smoothie

Cassidy found the silence between her and Shawn awkward as they sat across from each other outside the smoothie shop. She took a quick glance up from her cup and looked over at Shawn, soaking up his features. Through all that hair, she found him rather attractive, but what drew her in the most were his eyes. She felt drawn in as though she was placed under some sort of spell.

She quickly lowered her gaze once again when he caught her staring at him for those few brief seconds, or was it minutes. Ugh, why the hell am I so nervous with this guy? She thought.

“So, you stab people with forks often?” He asked, curiously.

His straight-forward question caught her off guard, almost causing her to spill the pink contents inside her cup all over her lap. Crap, he’s thinks I’m a freak! She thought, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve.

“It was the only thing I could think of at the time.” She replied with a smile. “But no, I normally don’t stab or hit people across the face with napkin dispensers. I could’ve taken other measures, but the end result wouldn’t have been pretty.”

Way to go moron, great way to scare the poor guy into really thinking you’re a freak now. She thought. 

She placed her head in her hands and sighed heavily. “I’m sorry,” She mumbled. “You must really think I’m weird right about now. I won’t hold it against you if you decide you can’t bare the sight of my hideous presence anymore and just walk away.”

“I don’t think you’re weird,” Shawn chuckled. “I think you’re awesome.”

Her head snapped up and she stared wide eyed into his beautiful eyes. “Really?” She asked in disbelief.

Shawn nodded. “Really, I think that had to be one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen.” He said. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

Cassidy bit her lip nervously and stared down at her lap. “My father,” She whispered. “He’s a marksman for the US Military. Basically when he comes down he teaches me what he knows or new self defense tactics he’s learn. I’m his guinea pig or his weapon as he calls me. Though he means well I suppose. He wants me to be fully prepared for when I take the exam for the academy in a couple years.”

“You’re father sounds like a real ass.” Shawn said.

Cassidy chuckled. “He can be from time to time, which is why I try my best not to get on his bad side. He can be really scary if you get him riled up.” She said. Shawn snorted and took another sip from his straw. “So what about you, do you always do that squinty thing with your eyes?”

Shawn smirked and leaned forward. “That’s a secret.” He whispered.

Cassidy scowled and flicked him on the forehead. “That’s not fair,” She pouted. “I told you a little about me, now it’s your turn to tell me a little about yourself.”

“I normally don’t give away any personal information to strangers, especially to those I’ve just met.” He said. “But if you’re dying to know, it’ll cost ya.”

“Fine,” She growled. “I’ll buy you another pineapple smoothie you mooch.”

“Not exactly what I had in mind, but okay.” He grinned. “I was running low anyway.”

Cassidy sighed heavily as she pushed away from their table and walked over to the smoothie bar. As she reached the counter a young man that couldn’t have been a few years older than her brushed her shoulder in a hurry. He turned to her and quickly apologized before scurrying off.

She shrugged and gave the woman at the counter a smile and placed her order for the largest pineapple smoothie they had available. Cassidy grabbed the jumbo cup and walked back over to Shawn and slammed the cup down in front of him. “Here, your smoothie!”

Shawn smiled and slurped the straw happily. “So, Cass…what do you want to know?”

Cassidy’s eye twitched at the nickname. “Only close friends can give me nicknames,” She stated flatly. “So back to my previous question, do you always do that squinty thing with your eyes?”

Shawn leaned back in his chair and sighed. “You should already know the answer to that, Cass.” He said. “You said I had a keen eye for detail and was impressed. Well you hit the nail on the head, sweetheart. I can see small details others can’t pick up. I have my father to thank for this dreadful gift. Guess we have our fathers to thank for our screwed-upness.”

Cassidy frowned. “First off, don’t call me sweetheart. Second, it’s not a dreadful gift.” She said. “You’re father taught you something amazing, something that you could use to help people. Frankly I find it rather hot, but what do I know I’m just some sixteen year old girl with ‘raging hormones’. Though, I highly suggest you back off calling in tips for the police, Mr. Spencer. You never know, one day it might come back to haunt you.”

Shawn stopped slurping mid-way on his straw and stared at Cassidy. “What makes you assume I call in tips to the police?” He asked curiously.

Cassidy smirked. “Don’t patronize me, Shawn.” She said. “While I went to fetch you another smoothie you pulled out your phone and placed an anonymous tip to the police. The gentleman that was at the counter before me robbed this smoothie shop a few days ago. Apparently the woman working the counter is too blind to see that was the suspect. How do I know that you ask? The smoothie machine from the other day has yet to be repaired from the warning shot he fired and is still leaking the radiant green fluid, not to mention he’s still wearing the exact same white hooded sweatshirt he had on the day he robbed the smoothie shop. Apparently he couldn’t remove the stain well enough and decided it’d be wise to return to the scene of the crime exactly two days later. He’s pretty retarded by my standards if you ask me.”

A smile curled up on the corners of Shawn’s lips. “How come you didn’t take him out if you knew he was the suspect?” He asked.

Cassidy shrugged. “It’s not my job, well not until another couple of years at least.” She replied flatly. “And besides, you’ve managed to take care of that all by yourself. More than likely he’ll be apprehended by tonight.”

“I like you, you’re interesting.” He mused. “We’ve got a lot in common. I think you and I are going to be great friends.”

Cassidy smiled and pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. “It’s getting late, I should really get going.” She said, glancing at her watch. “Thanks for…showing up. Try not to get into too much trouble, okay? I’d hate to wake up one day and find you in the obituaries for your gambling addiction. Nice meeting you, Shawn.”

Shawn stood up quickly. “You wanna go out for a movie sometime, my treat?” He asked. 

Cassidy pursed her lips contemplating whether or not she should take him up on his offer. She really did like the guy. He was smart, very smart, but an occasional smart ass and a control freak. Though, something in his eyes made her want to say yes. They seemed lonely and sad, something that didn’t suit the prize winning smile he showcased several times throughout the afternoon. 

Cassidy placed her hands on her hips. “It’s not a date?” She questioned.

Shawn smiled and shook his head, waving off her question. “It’s not a date.” He reassured.

A smirked found its way on Cassidy’s face. “Okay,” She replied as she turned around and began walking away.

“Are you going to give me your number so I can give you a call?” Shawn asked curiously.

Cassidy halted her steps and glanced over her shoulder. “Nope,” She laughed. “As I recall you know my place of employment. Besides, I don’t just randomly give out my number to people I’ve just met.”

“Yet you went out on a date with a guy you just barely met yesterday.” He pointed out.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Cassidy asked skeptically. “It’s nothing more than two people getting to know one another, nothing more.”

“It’s a date.” He said flatly.

“It’s not a date!” Cassidy snapped. “I refuse to even accept that this was considered a date, no offense. I just pictured my first date being with someone special and not-“

“With some hoodlum,” Shawn interrupted irritably.

Cassidy shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels. “Wow, thanks for making me feel a hundred times worse, but I was going to say at some smoothie shop.” She said, walking away. “And for your information, I don’t think you’re a hoodlum just a guy trying to figure out his place in this world you jerk.”

Shawn watched as she walked away until she was no longer in sight. He tightened his grip on the jumbo smoothie cup and threw it into the trash can beside him. “I’m such an idiot,” He muttered to himself.

~PSYCH~

Cassidy shut the door softly behind her and quickly but quietly headed upstairs to her bedroom before her mother even noticed she’d returned home. “You’re home early.” Her mother said. “Did you have a good time with Becca, honey?”

Cassidy threw her head back and sighed, turning around to meet her mother’s gaze. “I don’t think studying would qualify as having a ‘good time’, but I guess I did.” I said.

Her mother smiled. “Dinner’s in the microwave if you’re hungry sweetie.” She said.

“I’m not hungry, but thanks anyway mom.” Cassidy said as she walked back upstairs.

“Are you not feeling well?” Her mother asked concerned.

Cassidy shook her head. “I’m just not that hungry mom. It’s nothing to be concerned over with, I’m fine.” She said. “I had a long day is all and I just want to go to bed.”

“I love you sweetie.” Her mother said.

“Yup, love you too.” Cassidy muttered. “Night,”

Cassidy shut the door to her room and fell forward onto her bed, letting out a tired sigh. She sniffled and wiped the tears that began to fall as she replayed the day’s events. She felt horrible and utterly disgusted with herself from the cruel things he had overheard from her and Becca’s conversation.

“I’m such an idiot,” She whispered. She didn’t blame him one bit for hating her, she hated herself. Cassidy pressed her face into her pillow and cried until she fell asleep.


	4. Cassidy's First Date

A few weeks passed since Cassidy had last seen Shawn, since then she buried herself in homework, work and even training to keep her mind focused on what really mattered instead of spending her time upset over their little squabble down at the smoothie shop.

Cassidy figured after that evening she would never see Shawn again. The first guy that she managed to show some interest in, she ran him off. She couldn’t blame him. After all she was a freak. It was for the best anyway. Her father would have no intention in the slightest to approve of him anyway.

Cassidy sighed heavily and continued to wipe down the tables when the next customer walked through the door. She didn’t bother to look up from the table as she heard the flap doors that led to the kitchen swing open and Becca running out to greet the hungry customer.

As Cassidy grabbed the dish tub and turned to head to the back, Becca grabbed her by the back of her collar to stop her from proceeding any further. “Whoa there, you’re not going any further little missy.” Becca laughed. “This one is all yours.”

Cassidy smiled. “Sorry Becca. I would love to help you out, but as you can see my hands are full at the moment.” She said.

A smile etched itself on the corners of Becca’s lip and grabbed the dish tub from Cassidy’s hands. “Trust me. You’ll want to take this one.” She persisted.

Inwardly groaning, Cassidy grabbed a menu off from the counter and turned to assist the customer, leaving Becca standing there with a grin on her face. As she got closer to the front of the diner, Cassidy realized why Becca was so insisting she should go. It was Shawn.

She was so nervous she could hear her heart pounding through her ears and felt as though it was going to rip its way right out of her chest like in the movie Alien. Now, she stood directly in front of Shawn and somehow lost the ability to form words.

“Hey,” He greeted, smiling.

Cassidy swallowed. “Hey,” She greeted him, nervously. “You cut your hair.”

“And removed the ear ring,” He chuckled. “Why, you like?”

Rolling her eyes, Cassidy turned to lead Shawn to an empty booth and placed the menu down in front of him. “Um, I wanted to apologize for what happened last time.” She said sincerely. “We got off to a bad start and I’m hoping you can accept my apology so we can start over.”

Smirking, Shawn placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Then go on a date with me.” He said.

Cassidy did her best to stifle a laugh. “Man, you really are something.” She said.

“So is that a yes?” He mused. “I mean you did say yes at the smoothie shop after all.”

Cassidy gaped. “That’s because you had said it wasn’t going to be considered a date!” She hissed. 

Becca came behind Cassidy and smacked her upside the head. “Shawn, she would love to go. She’s just playing hard to get.” She said. “Oh and Cassidy, I already called your mom and told her you’d be staying over at my house tonight. So she knows not to expect you home until tomorrow sometime.”

“Becca, what the hell!?” Cassidy cried.

“Excuse us for a second,” Becca said. She dragged Cassidy a few steps away and whispered furiously at her. “You seriously need to loosen up and have some fun once in a while. Your father is not coming home for a couple of months so take advantage of it while you can. Besides, if you’re not in the slightest interested in him, I’ll gladly take him off your hands and show him a great time. He does clean up rather nicely after all.”

Cassidy stared at Becca in disbelief. Hurt and angry, she turned back around to Shawn and quickly reached into her apron pocket, pulling out an order pad and pen and scribbled a few things down onto the paper. “Mom’s got book club this evening.” She said as she tore the paper out of the thin black book and handed it to him. “Be at this address at six sharp, the movie doesn’t start until seven so make sure to have the tickets by then.”

“Taking initiative, I like.” Shawn said as he slid out along his booth. “So what’s the flick you have in mind?”

Cassidy smirked. “I was thinking more on the lines of the new Star Wars movie that just happened to be released.” She said, honestly. 

Shawn placed both of his hands over his heart and staggered back a few steps. “You’re an angel sent down from heaven.” He said.

Cassidy snorted and smacked Shawn on the side of the arm playfully with the order pad. “Whatever,” She smiled. “Now scoot before you get me in trouble.”

“Later,” He said

“Have you given any thought as to what you’re wearing tonight?” Becca said, stepping beside her. “Surely you’re not going out dressed like that.”

Cassidy glanced down at her attire. She didn’t find anything wrong with her outfit. In fact she was rather fond of the standard jeans, polo and the converse sneakers. It was casual, “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Cassidy asked, offended. “I always wear this.”

“Exactly,” Becca said. “Great thing I’m here to help you in your time of need.”

“Oh, joy.” Cassidy said.

~PSYCH~

Becca threw a duffle bag onto Cassidy’s bed. “Good thing you have me around.” She chirped happily. “Without me, you’d be lost.”

“Mmhmm,” Cassidy mumbled as she flipped through a magazine, clearly not interested in what Becca had in store for her.

“Get up,” Becca commanded. “Shawn’s going to be here in less than an hour. You still need to get dressed and I still have to your hair, not to mention your makeup.”

Cassidy sighed heavily and shut the magazine and turned to her best friend. “You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to let you dress me up like some trashy whore, Becca.” Cassidy said. “We’re watching Star Wars not having sex in some cheap motel. Besides, I never asked for your help. I’m fine as is, thanks anyway.”

Becca growled and reached into the duffle bag and pulled out an outfit and tossed it onto Cassidy’s bed. “Cassidy Leanne Reed, wear the damn outfit!” She shouted. “Stop being such a stubborn little…”

“Bitch,” Cassidy finished. “Sorry but I have no intention of changing for anyone, especially you. And If Shawn doesn’t like the way I am, he’s more than welcome to leave. Though, I highly doubt he will. He’s clearly proven he’s interested in me, either wise he wouldn’t have asked me out on a date, Wow, I’m such a hypocrite.”

Becca ran a hand through her hair and stormed out of Cassidy’s room. “Aw Becca, come back!” Cassidy laughed. “Don’t be acting like such a spoiled little brat because you didn’t get what you want.”

Cassidy counted to five and heard Becca storm up the stairs and back up into her room. “I’m not acting like a brat!” Becca cried. “I was just trying to help you!”

“What, by getting me raped in some dark alley?” Cassidy asked. “And not to mention have my face plastered in the back of a milk carton for my mother and father to see, no thank you.”

“You can fight them off.” Becca stated.

Cassidy threw her head back and laughed. “That’s not the point, Becca.” She said. “But I’ll tell you what. To make things better, I’ll go to this stupid party you’ve been begging me to go to next weekend. I’ll even dress up for you.”

Becca’s eyes brightened. “Really?”

Cassidy sighed. “I guess.” She said. “But I refuse to drink, okay?”

“Fine,” Becca agreed. “But you have to wear the outfit that’s inside the bag and you can’t complain about it either.”

Cassidy waved her off. “Yeah, yeah.” She said dismissively. “Now do us both a favor and leave. Your ranting is beginning to give me a headache. “

“Fine, I’ll leave.” Becca smirked. “But you better call me afterwards and fill me in on all the juicy details.”

Cassidy reached for a pillow and threw it at Becca. “Get out you pervert!”

~PSYCH~

Cassidy turned off the television as soon as she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly got up from the sofa and trotted over to the door, straightening out her shirt before she opened the door. “Hey,” She greeted Shawn.

“Nice house,” He said.

Cassidy smiled as locked the deadbolt to the door. “Thanks,” She smiled, placing the keys into her pocket. “It’s owned by the bank.”

Shawn chuckled and the two walked down the walkway and to the curb. “Where’s your car?” She asked curiously.

“Right here,” Shawn said pointing over to the motorcycle they were standing directly in front of and grabbed a helmet off the bike, handing it over to her. “Here ya go.”

“Oh,” Cassidy said, anxiously.

“Come on,” He said, patting the seat behind him. Cassidy laughed nervously as he turned on the ignition. “Just hold on tight, I promise I won’t get us killed.”

Cassidy swallowed nervously. “Y-You sound so sure,” She stammered. “You sure you don’t want to take a cab?”

Shawn smiled and fixed the straps to her helmet. “Relax, Cass.” He said. “I promise to take good care of you.”

Cassidy nodded wearily and cautiously got on the bike and hooked her arms around Shawn’s waist, holding on for dear life. “Oh god, we’re going to die!” She cried as he removed the kick stand and revved the engine.

“We haven’t even left the house yet, Cass.” Shawn laughed. “Just take a deep breath and hold on.”

Cassidy shut her eyes and pressed her face into Shawn’s back and did exactly as she was instructed. It was her first time riding on a motorcycle and it was the second thing she was deathly afraid of next to needles. If didn’t take more than twenty minutes to reach the theater when Shawn pulled in.

“Um, Cass,” Shawn spoke painfully. “You can let go now, we’re here.”

Cassidy was reluctant to open her eyes, but as she did she realized they made it to the theater safely. Flushing, she quickly pushed away from Shawn and got off the bike. “That wasn’t so bad.” She lied.

“Mmhmm,” Shawn said, clearly not believing a word that came out of her mouth. “You we’re practically screaming, ‘We’re going to die!’ the entire way here.”

Cassidy’s flush darkened. “Oh shut up, give me some credit. It was my first time riding on a motorcycle.” She said, honestly. 

“I would’ve never guessed.” He smiled as he placed the kickstand down.

Cassidy took a step back as Shawn’s hands found their way under her chin. “What do you think you’re doing?” She asked, grabbing a hold of his wrists.

“Um, retrieving my helmet.” He stated.

“Oh, sorry,” She said, embarrassed.

“It’s fine.” He reassured. Cassidy immediately removed her grip on Shawn’s writs and dropped her hands to her side, averting her gaze away from Shawn as he removed the helmet. “You don’t have to be so nervous around me you know,”

Cassidy snorted. “I’m not nervous, what makes you think I’m nervous, because I’m not nervous.” She rambled.

Shawn chucked. “For starters you’re rambling.” He said. “Not to mention you’re biting your lip, fumbling with the hem of your shirt and fidgeting.”

Cassidy stared up at Shawn in amazement. In just that short amount of time he was able to gather and point out all her nervous ticks. He was good, real good and she liked it. “Touché” She said. 

Shawn wrapped an arm around Cassidy’s shoulder, causing her to stiff for a brief moment but loosened up when Becca’s nagging voice rang through her head. When the two made it up to the theater, Cassidy stopped when she heard her name being called out.

“Cassidy!” Shawn and Cassidy both turned around at her name to see Jason running up to them. Shawn tightened his arm around her, causing her to take a quick glance up at him in confusion. “Hey Cassidy, never thought I’d see you out on the weekend.” Jason said happily as he came over to her and hugged her.

She hugged him back. “Time for a change I guess.” She smiled.

“So what movie are you watching, because if you’re not hanging out with anyone you can some sit with me and the guys?” He asked.

“Actually, I’m out on a date with Shawn.” She pointed out. “You remember Shawn from the diner a couple weeks ago don’t you, Jason?”

Jason looked up at Shawn, shock written clearly across his face and glanced at Cassidy. “Yeah, I remember him. The guy that almost got you killed over his money problems.” He spat.

Cassidy could immediately feel the tension already rising between the two men. Shawn took an angry step towards Jason, but she quickly intervened and positioned herself directly in front of Shawn. “That was rude of you to say, Jason. You should apologize to him.” Cassidy scolded.

Jason looked over to Cassidy. “Don’t you think he’s a little old for you, Cassidy?” He asked, curiously. “What’s your dad going to think?”

Cassidy shrugged. “His age and what my father’s going to think, is none of your concern.” She retorted. “Now apologize so we can get going or we’ll miss our chance on getting a good seat.”

Jason thought this over, and then turned back to Shawn. “Sorry, man.” He said.

“Yeah,” Shawn muttered.

“See ya around, Cassidy.” Jason smirked.

“Your friend is a real a-hole.” Shawn stated as the two watched Jason run back to his group of friends.

Cassidy sighed. “I know. I’m really sorry about that, I don’t know what got into him.” She said, honestly.

Shawn pushed her towards the theater. “I know something else he wants to get into.” He said.

“Gross,” Cassidy said disgusted.

~Antiquity~

“I’m sorry,” Shawn said, handing her his helmet. “But this new Star Wars movie sucked compared to the old ones, but it had its good moments.”

“Agreed,” Cassidy smiled as she clasped the straps together. “Though, the pod race was entertaining as well as the light sabre battle at the end.”

Shawn chuckled. “Hey, you wanna grab something to eat?” He asked.

Cassidy laughed. “How much can you eat? You had a plate of nachos, a large thing of popcorn, red vines and a coke.” She said, amazed. “You’re like a human garbage disposal.”

“What can I say, I like food.” He grinned and patted the seat behind him. “Come on, the night’s still young.”

Cassidy to a hesitant step forward, but got on the bike. “Alright, but I choose the place to eat.” She said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Just please, please don’t get us killed on the way there.”

“Relax, I’m a good driver.” He reassured, causing Cassidy to scoff is disapproval.

~Antiquity~

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shawn asked.

“I got this!” Cassidy said. “A bets a bet, I can do this.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Shawn said.

“You know what I’m not sure about, this helmet...its lame.” Cassidy said. “You should really invest in something more awesome.”

“We’re going to pull out the choke alright?” Shawn said.

“The what?” Cassidy asked. 

“The choke,” He repeated.

“Okay,” She said.

“Alright, turn on the ignition, pull in the clutch.” He said, placing her hand on the clutch. “Hold that in and push the starter button.”

“Uh-huh.” She said.

“Alright, there we go!” He said. “Left hand is the clutch and right hand is the throttle, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Alright, let’s get your kick stand up.” He said, lifting it up.

“Oh, I’m on a freakin’ motorcycle!” She said, excitedly.

“We’re not done yet.” He said. “Now we’re in first gear, now hold that clutch, don’t let go of that clutch until I get on the back, okay?”

Cassidy couldn’t hear over the noise of the motorcycle. “Let go?” She shouted and removed her hand from the clutch, causing the bike to speed off and her to fall back. Shawn caught her in time before she hit the ground and the two watched as the bike sped off and hit a post office mail box.

“Oh crap.” She said. “Oh Shawn, I’m so sorry.”

“No it’s okay, are you alright?” He asked, checking her over for any injuries.

“Yeah, I’m alrig-“

Shawn and Cassidy’s mouths dropped open as a bus rolled over his bike, causing the two of them to cringe. “Oh no,” Cassidy gasped and looked up at Shawn. “Oh no, are you mad?”

Shawn placed his hands in his pocket and shook his head no. “I-I’m just going to sit down.” He said.

“I uh, thought you said let go.” Cassidy stammered. “Do you want me to go talk to the bus driver, maybe?”

Shawn nodded his head quietly and Cassidy slowly walked towards the bus, and glanced over her shoulder occasionally at Shawn.

An hour or so later the two grabbed a cab back to Cassidy’s place where the two slowly walked to the side door. “God, I’m so sorry Shawn.” Cassidy apologized for what it seemed for the hundredth time. “I swear to god I’ll pay for it.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Shawn reassured. “It’s fine. I’m actually in awe. You didn’t drive it a foot before you destroyed it.”

“I’m so sorry, I feel so bad.” She said.

Shawn grabbed her by the shoulders. “It’s fine, okay?” He said. “It’s just a bike.”

“Do you really mean that, or are you just saying that because if I keep talking about it you’re going to cry?” She smiled weakly. 

“Get inside,” He said, pointing to the door.

Cassidy laughed and opened the door then turned to Shawn. “Thanks for a great night,” She said. “I had a lot of fun considering what happened in the end.”

Shawn chuckled. “See ya around, Cass.”

Before Shawn could turn around, Cassidy grabbed his hand and scribbled down her phone number. “Don’t be a stranger.” She said. “We should hang out more often.”

Smiling, Shawn grabbed the pen from her hand and wrote his down on her forearm in return. “Later,” He said.

“Bye,” She said, quietly.


	5. Three Day Rule

“So, what’s his name?” Cassidy’s mother asked curiously with a smile.

Cassidy choked on her orange juice mid-sip and looked at her mother. “What’s who name?” Cassidy asked, nervously.

Her mother smirked and leaned forward on the table. “Don’t play dumb with me young lady,” She chuckled. “The young man that just happened to walk you to the doorstep last night, late I might add.”

“You saw that, huh?” Cassidy said, quietly. Her mother nodded. “His name is Shawn Spencer. I met him while I was closing up one night at the diner.”

“Are you two a thing?” Her mother mused.

Cassidy scoffed. “No, we’re just friends.” She said. “And what is this, twenty questions?”

“I think I have a right to know who my daughter’s dating, don’t you think?” She smiled. “Besides, I’m cutting you some major slack by not grounding you for a month for lying to me yesterday. So spill it sweetie, I want to know everything.”

Cassidy placed her empty plate down into the sink and hopped up onto the counter.”Okay, in my defense mom I had nothing to do with what Becca did yesterday. So if you want to punish anybody, punish her. And like I said, we’re not dating. We’re just friends, nothing more.” She said, and then glanced at her watch. “I have ten minutes before I have to leave for my routine training with Uncle Jack, so you better get cracking on those questions…now.”

“Did you two have intercourse last night?” She asked.

Cassidy flushed. “What, mom, no! Come on!” She shrieked.

“It’s just an honest question, Cassidy.” Her mother said. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s perfectly natural at your age to feel and explore new things, your hormones go crazy. I remember when I was your age your father-

Cassidy placed her hands over her ears and shut her eyes. “La, la, la, la!” She shouted. “I’m not listening!”

Her mother laughed and stood up from the table and lowered Cassidy’s hands to her side. “Did you two have intercourse?” She repeated again.

“No!” Cassidy cried.

Her mother sighed in relief. “Are you still taking your birth control?” She asked.

“Yes!”

“How old is he?” She asked.

“Twenty three,” Cassidy replied quickly. “There’s a seven year age difference between us.”

“Acceptable, your father and I are ten years apart.” Her mother said. “What does he do for a living?”

“He just moved here from Santa Barbara,” She replied. “So he’s been looking around for a steady job, but at the moment he’s working full-time at some chain restaurant.”

Her mother pursed her lips. “He sounds like a job hopper, Cassidy.” She said disappointed.

“Cut him some slack, mom.” Cassidy said. “He’s a really nice guy and very smart, smarter than dad. He’s got a very keen eye for detail. It’s impressive, you should see it.”

“It sounds like you’ve taken a liking to this Shawn Spencer.” She said.

Cassidy nodded. “We’re the same.” She said. “We both have overbearing fathers who gave us a set of skills we didn’t want, but forced us to accept.”

Her mother sighed. “Speaking of your father, he’s not going to like this Cassidy.” She said, weakly. “If the two of you happen to become more than just friends, it’s your responsibility to inform him as soon as he returns home.”

“I know,” Cassidy spoke quietly.

“You have been keeping up with your studies as well as your training with Jack, right?”

Cassidy nodded. “Of course,” She said. “And speaking of Uncle Jack, I have to leave or he’ll blow a gasket if I’m a single minute late. Drop me off and we’ll continue our discussion on the way?”

Her mother shook her head and handed her the car keys. “I trust you.” She said. “Make sure to buckle up and drive safely.”

Cassidy smiled. “I will,” She said and jumped off the counter. “Thanks for the chit-chat, but next time please don’t bring up the topic of you and dad having sex. I think I’m going to have nightmares for the rest of my life.” She shivered.

Her mother chuckled and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Go kick some ass,” She said.

“Oh, yes.” Cassidy smirked.

~Antiquity~

“You’re not focused!” Jack scolded.

Cassidy pulled herself up onto her knees. “I am focused, Jack!” Cassidy panted. “Just give me a second to catch my breath!”

“Do you think an assailant’s going to give you a second to get back up when he has you down on the ground, defenseless?” He said, kicking her back down onto the ground and pulled out a pistol Cassidy knew was filled with blanks. “You’re weak. Your father raised a weak little girl who will never amount to anything in her pathetic worthless life. You’ll be killed on your first week on the job, kid.”

“Take it back.” Cassidy growled, her finger nails digging into the dirt. Everything happened so slow, she could hear the sound of his breathing and the gun cock behind her, itching to penetrate the bullet proof vest she was wearing. With cat like reflexes, she quickly turned her body and swung her leg under one of Jack’s, knocking him down onto the ground causing him to pull the trigger and fire into the air by surprise.

As Jack hit the ground, Cassidy pulled her pistol from its holster. Placing a foot on his chest, Cassidy leveled the weapon at her Uncle and smiled. “As always, I win Jack.” She panted. 

“Get off me you little brat, you just got lucky.” Jack growled as he tried pushing himself up.

Cassidy kicked him back down. “Not a very nice thing to say to someone who’s got a pistol pointed directly at you.” She said, as she removed her foot from his chest.

Jack stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants and stared at Cassidy. “You need to focus better, Cassidy. Your mind is wondering off to pointless things, and when that happens you’re not alert. Stay focused, concentrate on what matters.” He said.

“Yeah, yeah.” She said, holstering her weapon. “You do this every time we finish our stupid session, yet I always win. You really should heed your own advice sometimes, Jack.”

“Stop acting so cocky, Cassidy.” He growled. “You’ve gotten better, yes. But when your father comes home, he won’t be as lenient as I am with you. I’m warning you right now sweetheart, whatever’s grabbed your attention lately, get rid of it.”

Cassidy removed her vest and holster and handed them over to Jack. “Can’t you two just lay off me for a change and let me be a teenager just once in my life. Is that so much to ask?” She argued. “I’ve done everything my father has requested of me and frankly I’m sick of it, all of it. I’m tired of being his punching bag every single time he comes home and what’s worse, is that he’s given you permission to take over whenever he’s not around. You’re no better than he is. I’ve finally managed to squeeze out a little happiness in my life and you two want to take that away from me? How can you two be so selfish?”

Cassidy quickly wiped away the fallen tears and stormed to her car. “Cassidy, get back here, we’re not through talking yet young lady!” Jack called from behind her.

“Well I am!” She said, increasing her pace. 

“Cassidy!”

Quickly opening the car door, she quickly got in and slammed the door, making sure to lock it from the inside just in case Jack decided to tear her out of the car and give her an ass whooping of a lifetime for walking away. She quickly stuck the key in the ignition and sped off back to the city of Santa Clara.

~Antiquity~

“So let me get this straight,” Becca laughed. “You totaled his bike and he wasn’t even upset with you?”

Cassidy turned red from embarrassment shook her head. “You should’ve seen the look on his face, Becca. I swear it looked like he wanted to cry.” She said. “I’ve never felt so bad in my life and he didn’t even want me to pay for the damages afterwards.”

“You know what that means?” Becca said, smirked. “It means he likes you, like a lot.”

Cassidy snorted. “What kind of guy is going to like a girl who broke his most precious toy? She asked.

“A guy who’d obviously found a new shiny toy to play with, you.” She replied, smiling. “Please, please tell me you gave him your number.”

“Yep,” Cassidy smiled. “And I even got his in return.”

Becca shrieked with excitement. “Look at you! I am so proud of you!” She said. “Has he called yet?”

Cassidy shook her head. “No, but isn’t there like a three-day rule before you call the person?” She asked.

Becca shrugged. “I don’t know.” She scoffed. “After sixteen years of knowing one another, you should know me by now, Cassidy.” She said.

“Ah, that’s right.” Cassidy said. “How could I possibly forget, you’re Santa Clara’s biggest slut. How you’ve managed to not get yourself knocked up is beyond me.” She joked.

Becca laughed and punched Cassidy in the arm. “Stop being mean,” She said. “Well since we’re on a week of spring break, you promised me something that happens to be tonight.”

“I know, I know.” Cassidy said. “I promise to show up and dressed in god knows what you have in that bag. Mom’s got book club again and I already told her I was spending the night at your house tonight for girl’s night.”

“Yay,” Becca said, clapping excitedly. “Jason will finally lay off me. He’s been begging and pleading for me to bring you by all last week.”

Cassidy frowned. “I don’t know, Becca.” She said. “I’m still upset for how he acted in front of Shawn. He said some cruel things to him.”

Becca smiled. “He’s just threatened by a little competition, that’s all.” She said. “You show up to the movies with a hot date after he’s tried multiple times asking you out but you denied. Don’t bail out on me now, Cassidy. You promised.”

“A promise is a promise.” Cassidy said. “I’ll be there.”

“Good,” She said. “I’ll pick you up around nine, so be ready.”

Later that night Cassidy showered and got dressed in the outfit Becca had provided for her. Luckily the outfit she picked out wasn’t as bad as Cassidy had originally thought. She sighed heavily as her reflection. She had on a light blue denim skirt, a strapless black top, leggings and ankle boots she knew for a fact that would make her feet ache later that night.

She peered out of her bedroom window when she heard Becca honk the horn, signaling her she was waiting outside. She quickly grabbed her black combat style fitted jacket and headed downstairs. As she trotted down the stairs her cell phone went off in her jacket pocket.

Reaching into her pocket, Cassidy pulled her phone out and smiled at the name that displayed across the screen. She hit the talk button and pressed the phone to her ear. “Isn’t there a standard waiting period to call a girl after a date, Shawn?” She chuckled.

“Well I figured let’s cut the crap. You’re obviously into me and I kind of like you.” He replied.

Cassidy laughed at his blunt response. “Are you asking me out, Shawn Spencer?” She asked.

“I don’t know…maybe?” He said. “What’re you doing tonight?”

Cassidy bit her lip. “I promised Becca I would attend some stupid party with her.” She said.

There was a moment of silence on the phone. “Hmm, you didn’t seem like party type to me. I must’ve misjudged you, Cass.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes. “I’m not,” She said. “I’d rather stay inside and watch movies all night long, instead I’m going to be sitting all by my lonesome while everyone decides to get drunk and stick their tongues down each other’s throat.”

“Hmm, sounds like my kind of party.” He mused.

Cassidy snorted in disgust. “Okay, hanging up now.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” He shouted on the other side. “I was kidding, Cass. Come hang out with me then, I’ve rented some killer movies and could use the company.”

Cassidy smiled weakly. “Sorry Shawn, but I promised Becca I would go out with her tonight.” She said. “Will you take a rain check?”

There was another moment of silence before he spoke up once again. “Will your ‘friend’ Jason be there?”

Cassidy nodded. “It’s actually his party I’m going to.” She said.

“Don’t go, Cass.” He replied quickly.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Please.”

“I’m really sorry, Shawn.” She said sincerely. “I have to go, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“Cass-“

Guilt filling her from head to toe, Cassidy pressed the end button and sighed. Shoving the phone back into her pocket, Cassidy opened the door and headed out to a night she knew she was going to regret the following morning.


	6. Bad Situation

Cassidy groaned in annoyance. She hadn’t been at Jason’s party for more than a few hours and she had already lost count how many times she had been hit on. It was utterly disgusting and she hated it. They were drunk off their ass and only had one agenda on their mind and she wasn’t even in the slightest interested in any one of them.

Not to mention Becca had pleaded and cried with her to go to this ‘awesome' party only to abandon her while she stood across the room, flirting with her next victim. So instead, Cassidy sat alone on the sofa cursing to herself for agreeing to any of this in the first place.

Her head snapped up as Jason made his way over to her, drink in hand. He smiled at her before handing it to her. “Thought you might be thirsty,” He said. “Becca said you weren’t drinking the good stuff so I brought out the kiddy drink just for you, fresh punch right out of the jug.”

Cassidy smiled up at him. “Thanks Jason,” She said before taking a sip.

“Wanna go dance?” He asked with a simple smile. Finishing off his drink, he tossed it into the trash can that was next to the end table.

Cassidy shook her head. “Dancing is not in my forte,” She chuckled. “You of all people should know that. I practically have two left feet.”

Jason laughed softy. “Well then I hope you don’t mind the company,” He said. Cassidy shook her head once again and patted the space next to her for him to sit down.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s company. Cassidy finished off the drink Jason had brought for her and tossed it into the trash next to her and dropped her hands her hands into her lap. The next thirty minutes was filled with chit-chat about nothing in particular. As much as she wanted to continue talking to Jason, she was beginning to get sleepy. Her yawning made that perfectly clear.

“Tired?” Jason questioned.

Cassidy nodded. “A little,”

Cassidy noticed Becca and her new play-mate walking upstairs, she jumped up and immediately started to follow her upstairs to let her know she was leaving, but Jason caught her hand making her stop. “Where are you going?” He asked, smiling a friendly smile.

“Home,” She said, rubbing her forehead as she willed her eyes to go back to normal. “I don’t feel well.”

It was true, she wasn’t feeling well. All of a sudden she started to feel strange. Things we’re starting to blur and she was becoming very tired.

Jason shook his head and pulled her back down onto the couch. “Let’s talk a little bit longer,” He said as he slowly ran a hand up her thigh and under her skirt, massaging her gently.

“Jason, stop!” Cassidy cried as she shoved him away from her in disgust. She immediately sprung up from the sofa and headed for the front door. As she tried to make her way to the front door she realized something was wrong. Her balance was off and the world seemed to spin.

She grabbed onto the guardrail and slowly made her way down the steps. Cassidy could hear the screen door burst open and slam behind her as she reached the final step. By the time she reached solid ground, she was completely out of it.

“Cassidy,” Jason called from behind her.

Cassidy cursed herself as she continued to stumble forward while Jason closed in on her. This was a mistake. She should have just kept her big mouth shut and never promised Becca she would come here in the first place. “Stay away from me!” She warned.

Cassidy had no earthly idea how she was going to get home. Becca was her ride back home, but she was far too busy stripping off her clothes to a man she barely knew. All Cassidy wanted was to get as far away from there as possible, so she decided to walk even though she was a good ways from home.

“You won’t make it home like that, Cassidy.” He leered behind her, but she ignored him. “Let’s get you back inside and we can talk about this.”

“Your idea of talking differs from mine,” She slurred. “What did you slip in that punch?”

“Just something to relax you a bit,” He said.

By the time Cassidy had reached the curb her sense of balance completely failed and she started towards the ground. She was expecting to feel the cold pavement against her body, but Jason caught her in mid-fall. “Careful,” He said as his grip tightened around her.

Realizing her predicament, Cassidy summoned all her strength and elbowed him between the seventh and eighth ribs. He then released her and stumbled back, giving Cassidy that split second to try and make a run for it. Jason quickly regained his composure and grabbed Cassidy, slamming her face first against one of the cars parked on the side of the house.

“Stop being such a frigid bitch, Cassidy.” He growled, turning her around and crashed his lips onto hers hard. Cassidy whimpered and placed her hands on his chest, pushing him as hard as she could to get him off. She felt disgusted.

“Get off me, Jason!” She cried, as she tried shoving him off her once again, but it was futile.

“Hey,” The voice called from behind him. “Get your filthy hands off of her.”

Jason’s head snapped around to the voice. He didn’t have enough time to react as Shawn smacked his across the face with a wooden plank, knocking him off the drugged teenager. 

A wave of nausea flooded though Cassidy’s entire body. She immediately fell to her knees and regurgitated everything she had eaten that day. Shawn dropped the wooden plank beside him and grabbed a hold of her hair, moving it away from her face as she continuously threw up.

“Shawn,” Cassidy heaved.

Shawn crouched down beside her. “You’re alright now, just get it all out.” Shawn said, running a hand down the small of her back. “You really are a lightweight, huh?”

Cassidy shook her head tiredly. “D-Drugged,” She slurred.

Shawn’s eyes darkened and turned to the bloodied teenager lying on the ground. “I’ll be right back,” He reassured, standing up. Shawn picked up the wooden plank and grabbed Jason by the collar of his shirt. “What did you give her you sick bastard?”

“I didn’t give her anything!” He cried. “I swear!”

Shawn removed his grip on Jason and swung the piece of wood against Jason’s arm hard, most likely breaking it. Jason cried out in agony as he clutched his right arm. “I’ll ask you again, what did you give her?” He hissed.

“I slipped her a roofie!” He cried. “I just wanted her to loosen up a bit before we-“

Shawn grabbed Jason around the throat to stop him from talking. He couldn’t hear anymore. “I’m contemplating whether or not I should break every single bone in your body before I decide to kill you, what do you think? Will that make up for drugging and nearly raping an innocent girl? He asked curiously.

“Shawn, don’t.” Cassidy spoke tiredly. 

“Please,” Jason whispered, clutching his throat.

“Why did you do it?” Shawn asked.

“I love her!” He cried angrily.

Shawn felt sick hearing that come from his mouth. He tightened his grip on the wooden plank as he released his grip around Jason’s throat. He couldn’t hold it in anymore, the rage took over. Jason cowered in fear as Shawn lifted the piece of wood but stopped when he heard Cassidy’s voice. “Shawn, please.” She pleaded once more. “He’s not worth it.”

Shawn glanced over to Cassidy and then back to Jason. “Come near her again, I dare you.” He growled, dropping the piece of wood beside him once again.

Jason shook his head quickly and ran back in the direction of his house. Shawn knelt down and scooped Cassidy up into his arms. “I’m sorry,” She whispered to Shawn before darkness overcame her.

When Shawn rounded the corner, a crowd of teenagers were gathered around outside Jason’s house. Glares and whispers traveling all around the front yard. Becca stormed out of Jason’s house and ran down the steps towards him and Cassidy.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing, Shawn?!” Becca yelled.

Shawn opened the car door and gently placed Cassidy down in the passenger seat and fastened her buckle. “What did I do?” Shawn shrieked in frustration. “Why don’t you go and ask that dumbass over there who drugged and tried to rape her!”

Becca’s eyes widen at Shawn’s words. “W-What?” She stammered. Shawn went around the car and opened the driver’s door. “Where are you taking her?”

“Back to my place where I can keep an eye on her,” He said. “I don’t trust her with you, some offense. You’re pretty good at telling white lies, if her mom calls you know what to do. You’re the one who got her into this mess in the first place.”


	7. Amnesia

Chapter 7: Amnesia

Cassidy groaned into the pillow as she slowly began to drift back into consciousness. Her eyes flew open at the scent that was embedded into the pillow as well as the sheets. She quickly sat up but immediately regretted it as nausea and a headache slammed through her.

Ow, Cassidy thought. What the hell happened last night?

She looked around at her surroundings and realized she had no idea where she was or how she got there. She wasn’t even wearing her own clothes. Instead, she was wearing a long t-shirt. Panic filled the young teenager. She slid off of the bed and stood on two wobbly legs. Once she regained her balance, Cassidy cautiously moved towards the door but stopped when something caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

A Swiss Army Knife lying flat on top of the dresser. She stumbled her way over to the dresser and grabbed the small weapon. She had no idea what was waiting for her on the other side of door and she didn’t want to leave the room unprotected.

Cassidy pulled the longest blade out of its slot and grabbed the doorknob, gave it a sharp twist, and pushed the door open. As she walked through the doorway, Cassidy could hear the sound of running water coming down from the dark hallway. Slowly, she placed one foot in front of the other and cautiously made her way over to the source of the noise.

Suddenly the water shut off and Cassidy pressed her back against the wall. Her breathing became more rapid with every passing second. She kept telling herself to remain calm. If she began to panic, she would get sloppy. Cassidy held her breath as she watched the doorknob to the bathroom slowly turning.

She tightened her grip on the blade as the door opened. Before the man had time to turn, Cassidy rammed her body against the man, catching the man by surprise as he fell down onto his back. Before he had a chance to get up, she straddled his hips and pressed the long blade firmly against his jugular.

“Don’t move, I swear if you make one move I will slit your throat.” She warned. Even though she had the man right where she wanted him, she knew she couldn't hold him for long. She could feel her hands shaking and her eyelids still felt heavy “Now, where am I?”

“Whoa Cass, just calm down,” The familiar voice said. Cassidy let out a shaky breath once she realized who the voice belonged to, but refused to remove the blade from his neck. “It’s me, it’s Shawn. I brought you back to my place after what happened with Jason. Do you remember?”

Shawn could feel Cassidy’s hand slacken from his throat as she tried to recall what happened last night. He slowly inched his hand towards her hand that held the weapon against his neck. Gently, he pried his Swiss Army Knife from her hand. Cassidy snapped back into reality and realized Shawn had retrieved the weapon from her. She slammed his hand against the wall causing the weapon to drop down onto the floor and placed her hand tightly around his throat.

“I can’t remember anything from last night, why can’t I remember?” She asked, her voice shaking. “How did I even get in these clothes? Where’s Becca?”

“Can’t breathe,” Shawn said, gasping for breath. After a few moments of consideration, Cassidy released her grip on Shawn’s throat and got off of him.

She sat next to him and watched as he quickly sat up. “I say you’re more than qualified to take the state exam in a couple years.” Shawn said, rubbing his neck.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you." She whispered. One of her weak, shaky hands rubbed her forehead as she wished her current headache away. “You said you took me back to your place after what happened with Jason. What did he do?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” He asked.

Cassidy shook her head. “Not much,” She said. “Last thing I recall was hanging up with you and Becca picked me up to drive us down to Jason’s party. He sat down with me on the sofa and after that…nothing.”

“He slipped a roofie into your drink.” Shawn said. “He wanted you to ‘loosen’ up a bit before he got into your pants, claimed he loved you and all that crap.”

Tears began to fall as Cassidy kept trying to recall what happened between her and Jason. “Oh god,” She gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. “D-Did he…you know…did he…”

“Rape you?” Shawn said. “No, I got there in the nick of time before things got worse.”

Cassidy let out a relieved sigh and wiped the fallen tears. “A-And Becca?”

“I explained the situation after I had a ‘little’ talk with Jason.” He said. “If your mom calls, I told her to lie for you as usual.”

“What did you do to Jason?” She asked.

Shawn stood up and shrugged as he walked towards his bedroom. “Nothing much,” He said, casually. “Just taught him a ‘little’ lesson and gave him a fair warning.”

Cassidy got to her feet and slowly made her way over to Shawn’s bedroom. “What do you mean by little, Shawn?” She asked, as she sat down on his bed. “Tell me, what did you do?”

“My father always used to tell me, you treat a woman like a person, then a princess, then a goddess and then a person again. It was one thing I admired my dad for teaching me.” He began, throwing a t-shirt over his head. “When I pulled up and saw Jason touching you like that, I got angry. I got out of the car and saw a wooden plank lying beside his house and picked it up. I hit him across the face first and then I broke his arm next. All I saw was red, I felt like killing him for what he planned on doing with you. You stopped me, your voice stopped me. I’m not the most charming guy out there. I’m more of a womanizer than anything. But you’re different. I didn’t want you to go, because I knew he was trouble. I knew he was going to hurt you somehow, I just didn’t know when. All I wanted was for you to be safe.”

Cassidy gave a small exhale of air after a few moments. She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath. This was the first time someone defended her when she needed help the most. She was grateful towards him. When they first met, she didn’t trust him. She saw him as nothing more than a smartass who got himself into dangerous situations like that night at the diner.

But when she got to know him a little more, she started to see the real him. He was sweet, funny and very wise even though he gave off the vibe that he was lazy. But overall, she admired him. He was someone she could trust even though the person she knew most of her life betrayed her by drugging and nearly raping her.

She then looked up at Shawn to see his usual calm expression. As she stared at him, a feeling, something she never felt before began to be felt through her chest. But for some reason Cassidy found herself smiling a bit inside. She couldn’t pinpoint the reason why as she continued to stare at him. What was this feeling she was experiencing?

Cassidy snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing his voice again. “Are you alright?” Shawn asked.

She gave Shawn a faint smile. “Thank you,” She whispered. “It’s funny. We hardly know each other, but yet I feel like I’ve known you my entire life. You didn’t have to come to my aid, but you did. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know what I would’ve done. For all I know I could’ve wound up in a ditch naked and bleeding.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Cass.” Shawn said.

Cassidy shook her head. “No, I do. Because nobody at that party would’ve done the noble thing that you did. I owe you a lot.” She said. “But what struck me as odd was how you knew where I was?”

“You told me, remember?” Shawn said. “You said the party was being held as Jason’s?”

“Don’t patronize me, Shawn. How did you know where Jason lived?” Cassidy asked. “Have you been following me?”

“Now who’s patronizing who? You remember that night we went to go watch Star Wars?” He asked. Cassidy nodded. “Well, Jason had a key chain hanging out from his pocket that had all of his contact information in case he misplaced his keys. That’s how I was able to track you down.”

“Okay, that answers one of my questions. Though, I’m still confused on one other part.” She said. “Your bike’s still in the shop. How did you get over to Jason’s without a vehicle?”

Shawn smirked. “Don’t underestimate me, Cass.” He said, pulling out a pair of jeans from his dresser drawer. “One thing you should know about me, is that I’m always full of surprises.”

Cassidy’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. Was it possible that Shawn stole a car to get to her? “The look on your face tells me you’ve figured it out,” He continued, buttoning his jeans.

“I’m an accessory to your crime,” Cassidy whispered to herself.

“Relax, it’s not the first time I’ve stolen a car.” Shawn said. “Besides, I put it back in time before they even realized it went missing if that makes you feel any better.”

“No that doesn’t make me feel better, ever heard of a Taxi?!” She shrieked, running her hands through her messy hair.

Shawn shrugged. “I was running low on cash,” He replied, casually. “nearly not enough to get me where I needed to go.”

Cassidy placed her head in her hands and sighed heavily. A moment later her head snapped up and she met Shawn’s gaze with a glare. “Wait, you never told me how I got into these clothes,” She said. “Did you change me, if so how much did you see?”

Shawn felt his face getting hot. “Not much, I had my eyes closed the entire time.” He said. “I wasn’t going to let you sleep in my bed with puke ridden clothes.”

Cassidy shot him a look and stood up from the bed, slapping him several times in the arm. “You liar,” She said, disgusted.

“Ow, stop it!” Shawn cried. “Is this the thanks I get for saving your life?”

“How much did you see?” She repeated. Shawn tilted his head and groaned softly. “Well I hope you got a good look you pervert. Because that’s the last time you’ll ever see what’s under my clothes!”

“I can’t be held accountable for my ‘gift’. If you want to blame anyone, blame my father. I tried shutting my eyes, I swear I did, but by the time I did I had already recorded every mark, every scar that was on your body into my mind.” He defended. “But I swear, I swear on my best friend’s life that I didn’t remove your undergarments or take advantage of you in any way. I wouldn’t touch you unless you wanted me to. Though did you know the small birthmark you have on your right breast, just above the bra cup is in the shape of a heart?”

“I know what it looks like you idiot,” She said, pushing him aside. She pulled out one of his drawers and rummaged through it until she found a pair of check shorts she could wear. “Though, strangely enough I believe you. Oh, and I’m borrowing these shorts for the time being. I’m not going home wearing puke.”

“Sure, be my guest. It wasn’t like I was planning on wearing those tomorrow or anything.” He said, sarcastically.

Cassidy slipped on the pair of shorts that was a few sizes too big for her, but managed to make it work for the time being until she got home. Shawn pulled out one of his drawers and reached in, pulling out a small phone and a light green wallet with a panda on the front of it and placed them in her hands.

“I managed to pull these out of your jacket when I brought you here last night.” He said. “Though I think your phone died overnight.”

“Thank you,” She said, gratefully. “Even though you saw more of me than I wanted you to, I appreciate everything you did for me last night. You’re a good friend, someone I can trust.”

“You’re welcome, Cass.” He spoke softly. “I’ll call a cab for you, alright?”

She nodded and watched as he moved towards the door, but grabbed him, “Wait,” She said. “Do you want to come with me, I mean to just drop me off?”

Shawn smiled. “Sure,”

~PSYCH~

When the taxi pulled up to the front of Cassidy’s house, the two stared out the window in amazement. Cassidy counted at least four police units parked outside her house. “She called the cops! I haven’t even been missing for seventy-two hours and she’s already freaking out.” Cassidy panicked. “I’m dead meat.”

“You want me to come with?” Shawn asked.

“As much as I would like you to right now, no. I need to do this on my own, take responsibility for my actions.” She said wearily. She reached into her wallet and pulled out a wad of bills. “Pay whatever the fair is and keep the rest. Thanks for everything, Shawn. It was nice knowing you.”

Cassidy stepped out of the taxi and slammed the door causing several officers’ not to mention her mother to turn their heads in her direction. She had never felt so humiliated in her life. “That’s her officer, that’s my daughter.” Her mother cried, running towards her, engulfing her in a tight hug.

“Mom,” Cassidy said. “What’s all this, why are the cops here?”

Her mother pulled away slightly and grabbed her tightly by the shoulders, anger evident in her eyes. “Do you have any idea how worried I have been young lady? I’ve been worried sick about you! First you don’t answer your phone, and then I get a call from Rebecca at one in the morning, crying and scared out of her mind because she had no idea where that boy was taking you.” She said. “And what happened to your face, why is it bruised? What happened to you, did he touch you?”

Cassidy pulled away from her mother. “Mom, I’m fine.” She reassured. “Can we please talk about this inside, in private?”

Before her mother could give her an answer, a tall man in jeans and a white polo approached them. “Miss, if there was a chance you were assaulted it would be wise to tell us who did it so we can file charges on the suspect.” He said.

Cassidy rolled her eyes. From what she could tell, this man was a rookie at best. “The name is Cassidy, not Miss. And before you jump to conclusions officer, I fell down a flight of steps last night.” She lied. “Nothing you need to concern yourself over with.”

Cassidy was about to turn back to her mother, but the officer grabbed her arm. “Agent,” He said.

“Well Agent-“

“Miller,”

“Well like I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, Agent Miller” She said, practically spitting out the last word. “Don’t you have better things to do such as stopping drug trafficking instead of involving yourself in petty situations such as this?”

“Cassidy Leanne Reed, watch your mouth!” Her mother warned. “What’s gotten into you young lady? I’m so sorry Agent Miller. You’ll have to excuse my daughter she’s normally not like this. She very well behaved.”

Cassidy pulled away from Agent Miller’s clutch only be grabbed once again, instead by her mother. “Well that’s a shame.” He said staring at Cassidy, and then to her mother. “You might want to get her check out just in case. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us again.”

“Thank you, Agent Miller.” Her mother said gratefully.

“It’s Cassidy, correct?” He asked. Cassidy stared at the man and nodded her hesitantly. “Just so were clear, your father put in a good word for you down at the Agency a couple months back. My bosses have been scouting for people with a particular set of skills such as yourself and if you keep continuing down this path and behaving irrationally, you will lose all opportunity to get in with the D.E.A. do I make myself clear?”

Cassidy nodded her head once again. Miller stepped forward and handed her his card. “There’s an exam being held down at the Agency in a couple months and your father wants you to attend.” He continued. “My bosses are already aware and if you’re interested give me a call and we’ll put you down. But for the mean time, I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

Cassidy watched as the man walked away before glancing down at the fancy card. She didn’t know what to feel at the moment. A part of her was ecstatic because of the rare opportunity she was just given, but the other part of her was scared. It was all happening too fast and she didn’t know where to begin.

Her thoughts were quickly ending when her mother pulled her towards the house and slammed the door behind them once they were inside. “Where does he get off that I’m behaving irrationally?” Cassidy asked.

“Don’t you change the subject, Cassidy.” Her mother scolded. “Explain, now!”

Cassidy threw her head back in frustration and paced around the foyer. “I was with Becca last night or well for partially of the night,” She began. “We went to a party and before you raise your voice at me again, I swear I didn’t drink. I don’t exactly remember all the details, but Jason made a move on me and Shawn got him off.”

“Cassidy, were you drugged?” Her mother whispered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. 

Cassidy nodded. “I was foolish. I trusted Jason when I shouldn’t have and he slipped a roofie into my punch.” She said. “But I beg of you mom, please don’t bring the cops into this. If you do, they’ll most likely charge Shawn for assault for what he did to Jason when this was entirely my fault.”

“Honey, you do realize how serious this don’t you? You’re still a child and that decision is not up for you to make, but for the parents.” She said. “Now, did Jason…rape you?”

She shook her head. “No,” She replied. “And before you ask, Shawn didn’t touch me either. He took really good care of me after what happened last night. And the reason I didn’t return any of your phone calls was because my cell phone died.”

Her mother sighed heavily. “Cassidy, did you happen to shower this morning?”

“No, why?” Cassidy asked, confused.

Her mother grabbed her keys and purse off the wall table and grabbed Cassidy’s arm once again. “Come on, I’m taking you by the office to get you checked out.”

“What? Mom, please no. You know I don’t like needles.” Cassidy pleaded as she tried to pull away. “I’m fine, I swear nothing happened.”

“I don’t care young lady,” Her mother said, yanking her out the door. “You’ll understand one day when you have kids of your own.”

“Sometimes I hate the fact that you’re a doctor,” Cassidy whined.


	8. Confession

Chapter 8: Confession

A/N: Thanks to Pineapplegirl123, Flamingaura, Fantomfaire (FanFiction) Anon Ryder23 (Wattpad) for reviewing! And also to those who’ve followed Antiquity. This is a pretty decent size chapter, so enjoy!

 

Spring break was officially over. Since the incident with Jason, Cassidy hadn’t heard from Becca or Shawn. That day she returned home, her mother immediately drove Cassidy to her private practice and ran a series of tests on her to confirm what drug or drugs Jason gave her that night and also to give her peace of mind that her only child wasn’t raped.

Evelyn, her mother called her boss at the diner and informed him that she would be taking the rest of the spring break vacation off from work for personal reasons.

Cassidy was punished and sentenced to three weeks of grounding for lying. There was no computer, unless it was strictly used for school work. No phone, no borrowing the car and no going out on the weekends. She was to head straight to school and head straight back home unless she was scheduled down to work that week.

Her phone was returned to her on weekdays so her mother could keep tabs on her at all times while she was at school and at work. When her mother would return home, Cassidy was ordered to hand over her phone until the following morning.

Cassidy grabbed her backpack from off the bed and took one more glance in the wall mirror before heading off to school. She wasn’t fond of wearing makeup. But that day her mother mentioned the bruise on her face, she did her best to hide it. It was slowly fading, but she still had to place some concealer over the mark.

She was dreading returning to school. One, she was angry with Becca, angry for leaving her alone while she fooled around, giving Jason that opportunity to take advantage of her. Second, what if she saw Jason? What was she supposed to do, how would she react?

She shook her head of such thoughts and ran out of her bedroom and headed downstairs for her mother to drop her off at school before on her way to work. “You ready, sweetie?” Evelyn asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” She muttered.

Cassidy ignored the several looks she was given as she pushed her way through the crowded halls as she made her way towards her locker. She didn’t like being the center of attention, but once she stepped foot on campus, everyone’s eyes seemed to lock on her.

She immediately halted when she caught glimpse of Jason stepping out of the men’s restroom. She couldn’t help but admire Shawn’s work. Jason’s entire face was bruised and swollen. His nose was placed in a splint, indicating that it was indeed broken. His arm was also placed in a cast, making him lose any chance of playing football for the rest of the season.

Jason must’ve also taken notice of Cassidy because all the color in his face had seemed to drain. Eyes widen, Jason took a few steps back until his back hit the lockers. He quickly turned around and hustled down the hallway to god knows where. Cassidy shrugged her shoulders and turned down another hall where she saw Becca standing by her locker.

“Hey,” Becca whispered.

“Hey,” Cassidy muttered, turning the dial to the combination lock.

“I’m so sorry, Cassidy.” Becca began.

Cassidy grabbed a few books out of her locker and slammed the metal door shut. “Save your excuses, Rebecca.” Cassidy said through clenched teeth.

Becca winced at her name. The only time Cassidy ever used her actual name was when she was angry and that was when they were six years old when she purposely took a pair of scissors to Cassidy’s hair.

“I said I was sorry, Cassidy,” She whispered. “What else do you want me to say?”

Cassidy inhaled deeply and pressed her forehead against her locker. “I don’t think we should be friends anymore, Rebecca.”

Tears started to form in the corner of Becca’s eyes. “Cassidy, please don’t do this.” She pleaded. “I need you.”

“And where were you when I needed you?” Cassidy said, turning towards her next class.

“You’re my only friend!” Becca cried.

~ANTIQUITY~

The final bell rang throughout the entire school, informing all students’ the day was officially over with. To Cassidy’s dismay the day was far from over. She still had an afterschool track meet to attend to, the part-time shift she was scheduled to work down at the diner and if she still had enough sanity left in her by the end of the day, she’d have to fit in time to study.

She finally made it to the field with enough time to spare where all the other girls were stretching. Once Cassidy stepped up beside them, all girls stopped stretching and stared at her. Cassidy sighed heavily and turned to them. “Okay, I’m sick of all the looks everyone has been giving me today.” She said, irritably. “If you’ll have something to say, then say it already.”

Tara stood up. “We heard what happened during spring break?” She spoke softly. “What Jason did to you was unforgivable.”

Cassidy scoffed. “At least you think that.” She said. “Rumor around campus is that I’m the school tramp. I guess I have the football team to thank for that.”

Tara smiled and pulled the end of Cassidy’s pony tail. “Don’t let them get to you.” She said. “You’re better than that, Cassi.”

“I have far worse things to worry about right now than some false rumor that’s going around.” She said, fixing her hair.

“At least Jason got what he deserved,” Brittney smiled, wrapping her arms around Cassidy’s neck from behind. “From what we heard, a hot guy came to your rescue and scooped you up in his arms. Talk about romantic, I wish my boyfriend would do something like that.”

Cassidy could feel her face turning red from Brittney’s words. “Speaking of hot guys, check out the stud on the bleachers?” Tara said, biting her bottom lip. 

Cassidy and the other girls turned their heads towards the bleachers. She inwardly groaned at the man she had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting last week, Agent Miller. She threw her duffle bag down onto the ground and stormed over to the Agent.

“You know, when you said you’d be keeping an eye on me I honestly didn’t think this is what you had in mind.” She said, irritably. “Some people might get the wrong assumption and think you’re some type of creepy predator looking for his next victim.”

Miller removed his sunglasses. “Is that what happened to you?” Miller questioned.

Cassidy clenched her fists. “Don’t tell me you drove all the way down here just to mock me, Agent Miller.” She said. “What’re you really doing here?”

“You still haven’t called the office.” He said.

Cassidy scoffed. “Did it ever occur to you that I just may not be interested in your little offer?” She said.

Miller frowned. “Why not?” He asked. “Your father talked very highly of you. I’m sure he’ll be pretty disappointed once he finds out you’re not attending. Though, I’m curious to know what his little ‘weapon’ can do.”

Cassidy slammed her fist against the guardrail, catching Agent Miller by surprise. “Don’t call me that.” She growled angrily. “I’m not his weapon and I sure as hell don’t need his help climbing up the ladder. I can work my way up just like everyone else.”

Miller placed his sunglass back on and stood up from the bleachers. “Sensitive topic, huh?” He smiled. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Miss…Cassidy. Just please consider attending the exam. If it doesn’t meet up to your expectations in any way you’ll never hear from me again, but if you pass and you enjoyed it, all you have to do is attend the police academy and pass the California state exam. I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed.”

And with those final words, Miller stepped off the bleachers and walked towards his unmarked unit, leaving the sixteen year old standing there with mixed emotions. 

~ANTIQUITY~

Work was hell. As soon as Cassidy walked through the door at the diner, the place was flooded with customers. Jason quit his job the day after the incident and Becca called in before her shift, leaving her and the manager to run the floor. Cassidy sighed tiredly as the bell rang throughout the diner, indicating another customer just walked in.

She grabbed a menu from the rack and started towards the front of the diner until she realized the customer who’d just walked in. Shawn.

“Hey, long time no see.” He chirped happily. “Where’ve you been, Cass?”

A small smile formed on her lips and she shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, you know around.” She lied. “Oh, who am I kidding? Sadly, I’ve been grounded and locked away in my room. Mom really didn’t want me to return to work after what happened with Jason. I managed to convince her that I really needed this job until I finished high school since they’re the only place it town that will work with me and is close to home.”

“Speaking of Jason,” Shawn said, glancing around the diner. “Where is he?”

Her smile slowly faded at his question and gestured him to follow her to an empty booth. “He quit.” She said as he slid into the booth. “And before I forget, I should congratulate you on the amazing work you did on his face. I’d say it’s a bit of an improvement.”

Shawn smirked. “No thanks necessary,” He said. “So grounded, huh? That sucks, I was hoping we could hang out this weekend and hit a movie or something.”

“Sorry, rain check?” She apologized as she placed the menu down in front of him. “I have two more weeks of this dreadful torture and I’m free to do as I please, as long as mom approves of it first. Though, I’d prefer to be punished by her hands than my father’s any day.”

Shawn chuckled. “You know, you could always sneak out in the middle of the night.” He said. “I used to always pull that on my dad.”

Cassidy shook her head. “No thanks,” She said. “Unlike you, I like to stay out of trouble. Though it seems I’ve been getting into more and more trouble recently. My mother thinks I’m going through a rebellious teen phase and is pretty disappointed in my behavior. So I think it’s just best for me to ride this out for a couple more weeks so I can earn her trust back.”

Shawn scoffed and glanced through the menu. “You’re such a goody two-shoes, Cass.” He said. “Stop being such a stick in the mud and learn to have a little fun once in a while.”

“You sound just like Becca,” She said disgusted. “I’m not a stick in the mud. I just prefer to do things differently than you all do, is that such a crime?”

Shawn opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it when he saw the hurt in her eyes. “Hey,” He spoke softly, reaching for her hand but she quickly recoiled from his touch. “Cass-“

“Please don’t,” She said. “Tell me what you would like to eat so I can place the order in before we close.”

Shawn stared at Cassidy, immediately regretting what he said to her. He hurt her, which was the last thing he wanted to do to her. “For some reason I don’t feel like eating now,” He said, sliding out from the booth. “Guess I’ll head home.”

Cassidy lowered her gaze to the floor as he walked past her and out the door. Cassidy gritted her teeth. Today just wasn’t her day. She felt as though her life was crashing down around her. As for Shawn, he didn’t go home. Instead he sat on his bike across the street from the diner and watched Cassidy through the diner’s windows.

Shawn felt like crap. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut and not have pushed her. He should’ve just respected her wishes and left it at that. It just looked like something was bothering her and he wanted to do something nice for her to make her feel better. She was always preoccupied with something and couldn’t go things girls her age normally do because of her fear of her father.

He couldn’t be that bad, right? Did he really frighten her to the point she didn’t want to step out of her shell? He really liked this girl, liked her more than any other girl he’s been with. She was mysterious, gentle, warm and very strong, but he could tell she was hiding something more, something dark. That’s what made her mysterious. What made him curious to know more about her.

For the short time they’ve known one another, he managed to fall in love with her. That’s what made her different from all the other women. He wanted to keep her safe, to hear her laugh and to see her smile. Cassidy made him feel whole again. He no longer felt dead inside. For the first time in his life, he was happy again. And if he didn’t apologize now, he was going to lose her.

Shawn snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed Cassidy walking out of the diner, locking it behind her. He quickly got off his bike and sprinted across the street. “Cass, wait up!” He shouted.

She turned around at the sound of her name and gave him a confused look. “What are you doing here, Shawn?” She asked. “I thought you were going home.”

“I’m not very good at making apologies.” He began. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings in anyway. I was stupid. Please don’t-“

Cassidy held up a hand, cutting him off. “Forget it, Shawn. It’s just water under the bridge.” She said. “I really should be the one to apologize. I’ve had one hell of a day and I sort of took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do-“

“Please don’t,” She said. “You were right. I am a stick in the mud. I’m not fun. I really don’t know how to have fun. I refrain from all those things because of my father. I just do as he wishes so I won’t get the beating of a lifetime. I’m this person right now, but when he comes home I’ll be a completely different person. Someone you won’t recognize anymore. I’m not good for you, Shawn. You’d be wise to walk away right now and forget that we ever met. I’ll just end up hurting you.”

Shawn smiled faintly and stepped forward. “I can’t do that,” He said.

Cassidy turned around and began walking in the direction of her house.. “And why the hell not?”

Before she was out of his reach, Shawn quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her from walking any further. “Because,” He said. “I love you, Cass."


	9. Late Night Discussions

Chapter 9: Late Night Discussions

~RECAP~

“You were right. I am a stick in the mud. I’m not fun. I really don’t know how to have fun. I refrain from all those things because of my father. I just do as he wishes so I won’t get the beating of a lifetime. I’m this person right now, but when he comes home I’ll be a completely different person. Someone you won’t recognize anymore. I’m not good for you, Shawn. You’d be wise to walk away right now and forget that we ever met. I’ll just end up hurting you.”

Shawn smiled faintly and stepped forward. “I can’t do that,” He said.

Cassidy turned around and began walking in the direction of her house. “And why the hell not?”

Before she was out of his reach, Shawn quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her from walking any further. “Because,” He said. “I love you, Cass.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy’s heart felt as though it had stopped beating. He loved her, why? They’ve only known one another for a short period of time, what could he have possibly seen in her that made him fall in love with her in the first place. She was nothing more than a monster, a weapon in her father’s eyes. If Shawn saw what she was really capable of he would run away and wouldn’t spare her another glance.

Cassidy ripped her hand from Shawn’s grasp and took a step back away from him. What was she supposed to say? What did he want her to say?

“No,” She whispered, her hand tightening around the strap of her backpack. “No you don’t. Take it back, take it back right now.”

Shawn took a step forward. “Why?” He asked, curiously.

Cassidy threw her hands in the air in frustration and began pacing around. “Jesus, Shawn, what do you want me to say? That I love you?” She asked. “We hardly know one another. We’ve been on one date, one date and that’s all.”

“Two,” He said quickly, causing the young teenager to roll her eyes.

“Shawn,” Cassidy spoke softly. “I don’t love you. I like you, but I don’t love you.”

Even in the dark, Cassidy could see Shawn’s beautiful eyes brighten in excitement. “See, I knew you liked me,” He said, beaming. “Clearly you can’t resist my charm.”

Cassidy felt a heavy pain in her chest. She wanted to cry, but held a strong front. In all honesty she was really beginning to like him. It took one small incident for her to realize what those feelings really were. She couldn’t bring herself to hurt him, she couldn’t. If she allowed herself to fall in love with Shawn her father would take it all away in a heartbeat.

“You don’t understand,” She whispered. “I told you I’m no good for you. You’re better off with someone who can give you what you want, someone you could be happy with and spend the rest of your life with. You’ll be wasting your time if you’re with me.”

Shawn studied his friend closely, as if looking for the smallest chink in her armor of denial. Then he let out a sigh and stood directly in front of her.

“That’s the best you can do?” Shawn asked.

“It’s a classic,” Cassidy said defensively.

“Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps’ is a classic.” Shawn said. “I can tell by your facial expressions that you’re lying to me.”

“Shawn-“

“If it’s your old man you’re worried about, don’t be.” He said. “Or if you’re scared that I’ll run away from your schizophrenic side, I won’t.”

Cassidy couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not schizophrenic, you idiot.” She said shaking her head. “At least that’s what my mom says. If you must know I have a disorder known as Intermittent Explosive Disorder.”

“Which means you go ape shit sometimes.” Shawn said.

Cassidy nodded. “Well, that’s one way of putting it. I pretty much have it under control that is until dad comes home.” She said. “And when it triggers, it’s almost impossible to get it back under control.”

“Sounds sexy,”

Cassidy frowned. “No, more like troublesome if you ask me.” She said. “Seriously, who would want to put up with someone like me?”

Shawn cleared his throat and pointed to himself, causing a smile to form at the corners of her lips. “You’re amazing, so I don’t plan on giving up on you so easily.” He said.

“I thought as much,” She sighed. “You’ve clearly proven you’re not going to run away. And I have a feeling you’re not going to stop until you get what you want. So tell me Mr. Spencer, where do we go from here?”

Shawn placed his hands in his pockets. “Well, you can start by saying you like me.”

Cassidy smiled up at him. “I already did, weren’t you paying any attention?”

“I want to hear it again?”

“Okay,” She said with a laugh. “I hate you.”

Shawn playfully shoved Cassidy down the side walk and towards his bike. “Very sly, Cass.” He said. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Hey, speaking of rides home, how did you pay for the damages?” Cassidy asked, curiously. Shawn tilted his head to the side and groaned softly.”You know what, on second thought I don’t want to know.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy smiled happily to herself as she walked up the pathway to her front door, but the smile soon faded when the door opened abruptly and she was met with her angry mother. “You’re late,”

“I was closing up the diner,” Cassidy muttered as she placed her phone into her mother’s hands. “I could’ve sworn I explained that to you this morning before we left.”

Evelyn sighed heavily. “Don’t get snarky with me young lady.” She said, irritably. “It doesn’t take an hour and a half to close up shop. Your boyfriend should show a little more consideration, especially when your grounded.”

“For Pete’s sake mom, we just talked for a bit and he drove me straight home afterwards.” Cassidy said as she stormed into the kitchen. “If you’re that upset with me tack on more time for all I care.”

Evelyn ran a hand down her face and inhaled deeply before following her daughter into the kitchen. “Rebecca’s parents called,”

“Yeah, so?” Cassidy replied, curtly.

Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Nope,”

“Cassidy, she was heartbroken.” Evelyn said. “You two have known each other since pre-k, you’re practically sisters, talk to her.”

“That’s not going to happen.” She muttered. “It’s like dad always says, every choice has a consequence. Becca chose to leave my side while she fooled around and now she’ll have to live with that decision for the rest of her life. As for me, I chose not to be friends with her anymore. Dad will be thrilled to hear once he returns, don’t you think?”

“What’s the matter, honey? You haven’t been yourself since that night with Jason.” Evelyn said concerned. “I’m here, talk to me.”

Cassidy laughed in frustration and gripped the counter tightly. “Maybe I’m just tired of pretending being this person I’m not.” She said. “I’m overwhelmed, mom. I just lost my best friend. I can’t even walk on campus without someone staring at me and thinking I’m a tramp. I have a DEA Agent up my ass expecting me to participate in some stupid exam. I have a part time job to attend to, training with Uncle Jack and not to mention I have to squeeze in a little bit of Shawn and me time.”

Evelyn clasped her hands together excitedly. “So it is true, you didn’t deny it back in the foyer.” She said. “My baby girl has a boyfriend.”

Cassidy placed her head in her hands. “I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to explain this to dad.” She said worriedly.

“And let’s not forget, Cassidy.” Evelyn said. “We still haven’t dealt with the situation regarding Jason. His parents keep calling the office wondering if you saw anything that night. He won’t talk to them or to the police.”

Cassidy’s head snapped up. “Of course he won’t. He’s a coward.” She said. “For one, he’ll lose that wonderful scholarship he was entitled to. Second, his mom and dad will flip if they find out he threw a party while they were away and not to mention minors we’re drinking none the less. Third, if he knows what’s good for him he won’t mention anything to the police. He wouldn’t want to get his ‘innocent’ little hands dirty and have a criminal record following him around for the rest of his pathetic life.”

“And what if I want to press charges on Jason, Cassidy?” She said. “Did that ever occur to you?”

Cassidy sighed heavily. “Mom, please I beg of you. For the love of god, don’t.” She said. “I have a lot on my plate right now. I don’t think I can handle another damn thing at the moment. Besides, he didn’t rape me. He only managed to slip me a stupid roofie and lets not forget Shawn gave him the beating of a lifetime.”

“Which I’m grateful for, Cassidy but that doesn’t fix the problem at hand.” She said. “What is your father going to think when he comes home?”

“Uh, you’re not going to mention a word of this to dad.” She said quickly. “He’ll flip. Not at Jason, but at me. Partying is not tolerated in this household. He’ll berate me first and then beat the crap out of me next, leaving you to patch me up as always.”

“You should have thought of that before you decided to go against his rules, Cassidy.” She said. “Like he always says, every choice has a consequence.”

“It’s nice to know that saying came back to bite me back in the ass.” Cassidy said. “So you’re okay with him beating the living daylights out of your only child? Wow, thanks mom. You’re such a great parent.”

“That’s not what I meant, Cassidy.”

“Sure sounded like it.” She muttered, walking out of the kitchen. “I suppose I’ll head upstairs and begin writing my will. It’s nice to know that I’ll have a couple more months to live thanks to you!”

Evelyn grabbed a wine glass from the cupboard and poured her favorite wine into the glass cup. “This child is going to be the end of me.”


	10. First kiss/Unexpected surprise

Chapter 10: First kiss/Unexpected surprise

A little over four weeks had passed since Shawn and Cassidy began dating. After her punishment had been lifted, the two had gotten fairly close over the two weeks and enjoyed spending as much time as they could with one another. But to Cassidy’s dismay, it wasn’t as much time as she would have hoped for.

Though summer vacation just started for the young teenager, she spent most of her time working full-time. And if she wasn’t working, she was out training with Jack. Things were about to change for Cassidy, things that would require her to make decisions.

~Antiquity~

“You’re scaring the regulars.” Cassidy spoke softly to Shawn as she placed a cup of coffee and a small plate of pie down in front of him.

Shawn smiled at Cassidy before he took a bite out of the pie. “How so?” He asked curiously.

“Really, Shawn?” Cassidy chuckled lightly. “You’ve been sitting here in the exact same spot every day for the past week staring at me while I do my job, ordering nothing but a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. Some of the guys here think my face is going to be posted on a missing person’s bulletin, stapled onto a wooden light post.”

Shawn placed his fork down and stared at her. “It’s the only time we get to see each other.” He said.

Cassidy sat down in the booth across from him. “I know,” She said. “Which is why today is my last day on the job.”

“Cass-“

She held up a hand cutting him off. “I was going to tell you sooner, but things have gotten a little hectic around here lately.” She said. “Besides, I have plenty of money set aside in savings to last me a good while. Plus, mom thinks I’ve been working myself too hard lately and wants me to focus more on this last school year before I enroll into the police academy.”

Shawn leaned forward and gently grabbed Cassidy’s hand, kissing the back of it lightly causing her to blush lightly. “Which means I’ll have you all to myself for the summer.”

Cassidy pulled her hand away from Shawn’s grasp and flicked him lightly on the forehead. “Slow down there lover boy,” She said with a smile. “It’s not that I don’t mind spending time with you, I enjoy it. But did you happen to forget that my father will be returning home soon?”

Shawn shrugged. “Yeah, so?” He said.”Just do what I did back then, sneak out. He’ll never know.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes. “And risk being taken down by a top ranked sniper for the military, no thanks.” She said. “All I’m saying is that if everything goes as planned and he miraculously lets me keep dating, I’ll only be limited to do certain activities with you.”

A smirk found its way on Shawn’s face. “What kind of ‘certain activities’ did you have in mind?”

Cassidy’s face turned as red as a tomato. “Clearly not what you’re thinking at the moment, pervert.” She said as she scooted out from the booth. “Try to behave, alright? My shift ends in an hour and we can do anything you want afterwards.”

Cassidy was about to turn back to her tables, but Shawn grabbed her hand. “Kiss me.”

“What?”

“Kiss me,” He repeated again.

“What, right here?” She asked skeptically. Shawn nodded. “Are you crazy? I can’t do that in front of all these people, it’s not professional. Besides, this is not where I envisioned having my first kiss at.”

“And where did you ‘envision’ this so called first kiss at?” Shawn asked.

Cassidy shrugged and smiled down at him. “Let’s just say it’s not at a diner.” She said. “Now if you’ll excuse me Mr. Spencer, some of us have a job to do.”

“Very sly of you, Cass.” Shawn said to himself.

The last hour seemed to drag for the couple as they counted down the final minutes of her last day at the diner. When the clock struck three, Cassidy said her goodbyes and quickly ripped off her apron before darting out the door with Shawn, enjoying her new found freedom.

“Where to my lady?” Shawn asked.

Cassidy jumped on Shawn’s back and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Anywhere but here,” She said excitedly. “This feels good! It feels as though a huge weight has been lifted off my chest. I’ve never felt so free in my life!”

“It’s called living, Cass.” Shawn chuckled.

“You know what I could go really, really go for right now?” She asked.

“What’s that?”

“I could for the largest strawberry banana smoothie that Santa Clara has to offer and a couple rounds of paintball with you.” She replied.

“You don’t have to ask me twice on smoothies, I’m up for that anytime.” He said. “Now paintballing is a completely different story. I wouldn’t want to hurt you with my awesome skills.”

Cassidy scoffed and pinched his cheek. “You do know who you’re talking to, right?” She said. “You’re squinty little eye technique can’t save you from my wrath.”

“Oh, I don’t need that to take you down little missy.” He said with all the amount of pride in the world. “You might be good at shooting a gun, but I’m better.”

“Is that so?” She said, clearly mused by his reply. “If that’s the case, then show me what you got.”

“On one condition,” Shawn said.

“Name it.” Cassidy said.

“When I win, you’ll have to kiss me.” He said.

“Deal,” She said. “As for me, when I win you’re to take back that remark you said a moment ago.”

“Deal,” Shawn said as he extended his hand to her for the two to shake hands. “Now, where can we go paintballing around here?”

Cassidy smirked. “Oh, don’t you worry about that. I know the perfect place.”

~Antiquity~

Shawn hunkered down behind a tree as he tried to catch his breath. She was good, damn good. He figured he’d give her a thirty second head start to run off in the woods, but that clearly was a mistake. Now he was paying the price.

He cursed silently to himself. He was low on ammo. I should have just kept my big mouth shut. He thought. Now I have a trigger-happy girlfriend out there waiting for me to make a move.

Shawn heard a branch snap to his left and raised his paintball gun. Suddenly a paintball whizzed dangerously close to Shawn’s ear. He dived to the ground just before the paintball struck him. When he could finally get back on his feet he saw Cassidy standing ten feet away from him with her pistol pointed at his abdomen. 

“Nice shooting,” Shawn said.

“Not good enough,” Cassidy replied with smirk. “I missed, but there’s no possible way I can miss from this distance. Give it up, Spencer. I win.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, sweetie.” Shawn said. “You might want to look again.”

Cassidy did as she was instructed and looked a little more closely at Shawn and saw that he was holding a fist-sized green oval marked with striations.

“Grenade!” Cassidy shouted.

Shawn took a step forward and threw it in Cassidy’s direction, exploding yellow paint all over her.

“In your face,” Shawn smiled.

Cassidy stood in awe for a moment before she decided to speak up. “We never discussed grenades!” Cassidy said. “You’re a dirty little cheater.”

“War is hell my defeated foe,” Shawn chuckled as he walked towards her. “A deal is deal, now pay up.”

“Oh...Um…Okay.”

She swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling very apprehensive about the whole thing. Shawn watched with an amused smile as Cassidy turned jittery. Cassidy unconsciously wetted her lips in anticipation. The act did not go unnoticed by Shawn and he had to tell himself to move slowly as he leaned over her body to press his lips to hers gently.

Cassidy had to suppress a whimper as she felt warm lips descend on her. She was no longer sure of herself, responding timidly to his kiss, which was hardly more than a caress of his lips against her own. It was warm and tender and left her aching for more, so when his tongue traced her bottom lip teasingly, she parted her lips and granted him entry.

Shawn hummed softly, bringing a hand up to cup her jaw as his tongue began sweeping lazily over teeth and gums before stroking her own muscle smoothly. Her nervousness was evident as she tentatively kissed him back.

Then the moment was ruined. Cassidy’s phone went off in her breast pocket. The two sighed in frustration and pulled away from one another. Cassidy pulled out her phone and frowned. “I’m so sorry, I have to take this.” Shawn nodded as he watched Cassidy walk a few feet away from him. A few moments later she’d returned and began picking up their paintball gear. “We have to leave. My mother wants me home right away.”

“Everything alright?” Shawn asked as he grabbed the black duffle bag from her hands.

“Uh-huh,” Cassidy said. “She just wants me home for some reason and won’t tell me why.”

Shawn grabbed her hand before she could walk away. “Are we okay?”

Cassidy grabbed the front of Shawn’s vest and pulled him forward, kissing him deeply. After a moment she broke the kiss, their lips just barely touching as she whispered, "Of course we are, Shawn.”

~Antiquity~

Shawn pulled up to the driveway and turned off the ignition to his bike before placing the kickstand down. Cassidy unwrapped her arms from his waist and got off the bike she’d come dread. “Thanks for an interesting evening,” She said as she removed the helmet from her head. “I had fun.”

“Me too,” Shawn said and reached for her hand, holding it tightly.

The two slowly walked up the steps to the front door in silence. Cassidy grabbed the duffle bag from Shawn’s hands and smiled up at him. Before she could open her mouth to speak the front door opened abruptly, catching the two by surprise.

Shawn quickly turned his head at Cassidy as he heard the duffle bag dropped in a heavy thump on the porch. All the blood drained from Cassidy’s face as she stared at the man standing in the doorway and began to tremble, He turned his head to the man and then back at Cassidy.

“Dad?"


	11. Meet The Parents

Chapter 11: Meet the Parents

“No!” Cassidy screamed. “What the hell are you doing back so early? You’re not supposed to be here! Now please, please just let this be some kind of sick joke, a nightmare for all I care!”

Cassidy’s father made no attempt to smack her for her rude and childish behavior. That was probably because Cassidy had only screamed in her mind. The man standing before Cassidy was about to ruin everything for her. He was going to make her life miserable until he got what he wanted.

“Are you just going to stand there with your trap shut all day or are you going to introduce me to the ‘boy’, Cassidy.” Her father said. His fists were clenched, and a vein in his temple throbbed.

A surprised gasp escaped the young teen’s lips. She’d completely forgotten Shawn had been standing beside her the whole time. Cassidy cleared her throat and straightened her posture before speaking to her father. “Dad, this is Shawn Spencer.” Cassidy said. “Shawn, this is my father. David Reed.”

Shawn was on his best behavior, especially if he wanted to win her father over. “Nice to meet you, Sir.” He held out a hand.

Cassidy could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She prayed her father would accept Shawn, but she had a feeling Shawn wasn’t going to meet up to expectations. No more than a few seconds later her entire face fell. Her father didn’t accept Shawn’s handshake. The only thing David managed to do was scoff.

Shawn felt a slight tang of disappointment as he realized that David showed no interest in him what so ever. Shawn withdrew his hand and shoved it in his pocket. “What’s your relationship with my daughter, ‘boy’?” David asked, curiously. “Surely she hasn’t been wasting her time on some scalawag instead of focusing on what really needs attending to, such as her training.”

Cassidy opened her mouth to speak but David held up a hand to cut her off. She took a quick glance at Shawn before lowering her gaze to the ground. Her father wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear. Things were about to take a turn for the worst. She wouldn’t blame Shawn for breaking up with her after all of this was over. In fact, she rather he did. For that it would spare him the horrible torment her father was going to subject him to.

Cassidy’s heart began to ache. She wanted nothing more than to be with Shawn. He didn’t care at the fact that she was a freak. In fact, he loved her for the way she was. And she to, loved him for who he was. She didn’t want him to change for her, not ever. But who was she kidding, in a few moments he was going to walk right off this porch and wouldn’t even look back,

Instead, Shawn did the exact opposite. He stood his ground and refused to leave without giving David an answer. He grabbed Cassidy’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “I’m dating your daughter, Sir.” Shawn said, peering intently into his eyes.

Cassidy blushed happily at Shawn’s words and intertwined her fingers with his. David’s eyeballs looked like they were going to explode out of his head and Cassidy couldn’t help the small smirk that was beginning to form on her face. David turned to his daughter with a scowl on his face. “Is this true, Cassidy?”

Before Cassidy could answer, Shawn heard the sound of the front door opening.

“It is,” It was a woman’s voice. Shawn turned his head so he could see the door. The speaker was a tall woman in a dark suit that looked no older than the age of thirty-five. The woman was almost as tall as him. Her long hair was as brown as a chestnut; her eyes were just as golden as Cassidy’s. 

He could hear her heels digging divots out of the wood with every step. Cassidy moved out of the way as the woman’s lips parted into a smile. “You must be Shawn.”

“That’s me,” Shawn said. “And you-“

“You can call me Evelyn,” She extended her right hand and took Shawn’s in it. “Cassidy has done nothing but gab about you since the two of you met. She’s rather fond of you.”

“Mom,” Cassidy said embarrassed.

“Care to explain what the hell is going on around here since I’ve been gone, Evelyn?” David said irritably, “As I recall I specifically made it clear she wasn’t allowed to date until she got herself into a stable career path. And now the two of you have gone behind my back and disobeyed my rules and in my house no less.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes before turning to her husband. “David, we’re not doing this right now.” She said. “We can talk about it later this evening. As for now, I have dinner on the table and it’s getting cold. So march yourself inside and wash your hands.”

David turned to Cassidy and pointed an angry finger at her. “We’re not done talking about this young lady.” He said. “This conversation is far from over.”

“Yes, Sir.” Cassidy said.

Cassidy breathed a sigh of relief. Evelyn watched her husband until he was out of ear shot before turning her attention back to Shawn and Cassidy. “You’ll have to excuse my husband, Shawn. He can’t seem to get that stick out of his ass for some reason so I do apologize.” She said sincerely. “I hope you plan on staying for dinner this evening, I made Chicken Parmesan.”

Cassidy smiled as she noticed Shawn’s eyes brighten in excitement. It was a free meal and there was no way he was going to turn it down. “Before we head inside there’s something I want to discuss with you both.” Evelyn said as she shut the front door. “I suggest you two refrain from mentioning anything to David regarding that night at Jason’s. I’m not too fond of hiding things of this magnitude from David, but after careful consideration I think it’s in Cassidy’s best interest if we keep this to ourselves. Are we all clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”


	12. Dinner With The Reeds

Chapter 12: Dinner with the Reeds

Dinner wasn’t going as well as Cassidy had hoped for, but that was to be expected due to her father was home once again but on a more permanent level. David had officially retired from the Military Service and had no intention returning. He was going to make her life a living hell now that he was home and he knew exactly how to do it.

Once Shawn stepped foot into the Reed’s residence he was berated with dirty looks from David much to Cassidy’s dismay. She hated the fact that her father didn’t approve of him nor did she like the fact that he didn’t call Shawn by his name but ‘boy’ instead. As the four got settled into the dining room no one spoke a word to one another. Normally, Cassidy was fond of silence. In fact, she found it rather relaxing. That is up until now.

“Nothing beats the sound of forks and knives scraping against plates,” Evelyn complained. Cassidy smiled slightly at her mother’s words. “Since no one wants to start a decent conversation at this table, I guess I’ll-“

“What do you do for a living ‘boy’?” David rudely interrupted.

Cassidy sighed heavily and threw her fork down onto her plate and shot her father a look. “Dad, please don’t do this.” She whined.

“Why?” David asked curiously. “Are you ashamed of what he does for a living?”

Cassidy scoffed. “Of course not,” She said. “I just know how you’ll react over something so pointless.”

Shawn grabbed Cassidy’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Its fine, Cass,” He reassured her before meeting David’s cold gaze once again. “I work at Denny’s as a waiter.”

David let out a snicker and shook his head with disapproval as he turned his attention to his daughter. “Crissake, Cassidy,” He said pointing over to Shawn. “This is the best you can do, a Denny’s waiter?”

“David,” Evelyn hissed. “That’s enough!”

David turned to Evelyn. “No,” He growled angrily. “This better be some kind of sick joke. She doesn’t have time to be wasting on some underdog, especially when she has an exam to prepare for in a couple weeks.”

Shawn stared at Cassidy, confused. “What exam?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you?” David mused. “I’ve taken the liberty of enrolling her in the upcoming D.E.A. exam.”

Cassidy leaned close to Shawn. “I really did plan on telling you soon.” She whispered in Shawn’s ear. “I just needed some time to think on what I was planning on doing with my life.”

“Are you kidding, that’s fantastic?” Shawn said happily. “It’s what you’ve always wanted to do, right?”

Cassidy averted her gaze from Shawn. “Of course it is. It’s practically my dream job.” She said. “But there’s more to it than just that.”

“And what’s that?”

David cleared his throat, catching the young couple’s attention. “We’ll talk about this later, alright?” Cassidy said.

Shawn nodded and turned his attention back to Cassidy’s parents. “So, Shawn,” Evelyn said. “Cassidy says you have an impressive gift, a keen eye for detail that is?”

Cassidy felt her eye involuntary twitch. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. “Mom, now you to?” She whined once again.

“Oh come on, Cassidy.” Evelyn said. “You talk very highly of him, I’m just curious to know what he can do. As I recall you once said he pointed out all of your nervous ticks in a matter of seconds.”

David scoffed and took a sip of his wine before turning to Shawn. “Come on, boy.” He taunted. “We need some entertainment at this table. Do your trick.”

Cassidy glanced wearily at Shawn, but he kept his gaze locked on her father. “I don’t do tricks,” Shawn said. “But you might want to talk to the magicians down at the Fortress of Magic. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help you out.”

Cassidy sighed heavily and placed her head in her hands. “And here we go,” She muttered to herself.

“Just admit you can’t do it, boy.” David smirked. “You couldn’t read my mind if I took it out of my skull and handed it to you.”

Cassidy quickly pushed away from the table and stood up from her seat. “Dad, stop!” She shouted.

“Come on, boy.” David said. “Tell me something about myself.”

Shawn glanced at Cassidy who was pleading with her eyes for him not to do it, but he wasn’t going to back down anytime soon. If her father wanted to see what he could do, he was going to show him.

Shawn sighed and took a hard look at David Reed. “If that’s what you want…” He said as he placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

“Shawn, please don’t.” Cassidy pleaded.

“For one you’re argumentative. You won’t accept what anyone says and you love to disagree. You’re aggressive by being angry or threatening. Definitely bad-tempered and big-headed from what I’ve observed just sitting here at the table. You’re also very conceited and deceitful. You try to make people think something, so that you can get what you want. It’s got to be your way no matter what. You’re very domineering and inconsiderate of other people or their feelings. Spiteful and lastly let us not forget manipulative.” He said. “Did I get it all Mr. Reed or am I missing anything else?”

Cassidy and Evelyn turned pale. The two women nervously swallowed and turned their heads slowly to see David’s reaction whose face was now turning a bright red. “Cassidy, a word in the kitchen, now.” David said as he stood from his seat

Cassidy nodded slowly and smiled weakly at Shawn who mouthed a silent ‘Too much?” which she replied with a nod.

Once the two entered the kitchen, David turned towards Cassidy and leaned against the counter. “You need to get rid of that boy, tonight.” He growled. “Whatever feelings you have towards him need to disappear as of now.”

Cassidy gave her father a look of disgust and crossed her arms over her chest. “No.” She said flatly. “I’m sorry dad, but no.”

“Excuse me young lady?”

“You heard me.” She said. “You’re only doing this because you’re threatened by what he just told you. You just can’t stand the fact that some ‘boy’ outsmarted you. Face it, dad. You’re afraid of-“

Cassidy stopped midsentence as her father’s large hand struck the right side of her face. The slap echoed out throughout the kitchen and Cassidy's head whipped to the side. She clenched her jaw and glared at her father.

“You watch your mouth, child.” He said. “I did not raise you to talk back to me like some spoiled brat. You have far more important things to worry about than some petty crush. For instance, your job, the DEA exam and training that needs tending to.”

“Well I’m sorry to disappoint you, dad.” She said. “Mom was going to discuss this with you this evening but I’ll go ahead and tell you myself. For one, I’ve quit my job. With training and school work it got to be overwhelming. Second, just so we’re clear I’m neither a ‘weapon’ nor do I need your assistance climbing up the ladder. I’m not attending the exam. And lastly, it’s not just some petty crush. You refuse to accept him for who he is, but Shawn’s a good person with a loving heart. He doesn’t see me the way you do, a weapon. He accepts me for who I am.”

David scowled and grabbed Cassidy by her arm, pinning her to the wall with one hand on her shoulder while his eyes stared into hers. “You’re attending that exam, Cassidy, whether you like it or not!” He shouted. “And you’re also to throw that boy to the dogs, tonight!”

“No,” She pulled herself free from his grip and rushed back towards the dining room. He followed, still angry.

“Get back here, Cassidy!” He shouted. “We’re not through talking about this.”

“I’m tired of you thinking you can control me like some damn puppet. I want to do things on my own terms, not yours!” She said. “Why can’t you just accept that? Everything was going fine until you got home! Let me live my life how I want to!”

While she spoke, or rather shouted at him, Evelyn jumped up from her seat in the dining room and confronted the two. “We have a guest in this house. Did that happen to slip both of your minds?” She whispered fiercely. “For Christ’s sake you two, can’t we have one night together without you two at each other’s throat. Is that so much to ask?”

“Then why don’t you try talking some sense into that stringent husband of yours!” Cassidy said as she maneuvered around her mother and headed back towards the dining room where Shawn was still seated.

“Sorry about that,” Cassidy spoke softly. “As you can see we’re not the perfect family. But I suppose every family has their quirks, huh?”

Shawn turned to Cassidy with a smile but it soon faded as his eyes landed on the large mark left on her pale skin. Cassidy quickly took notice and placed her hand over the mark. “It’s nothing to be concerned over with, Shawn.”

Shawn quickly pushed away from the table and approached his girlfriend. “Nothing to be concerned over with,” He said furiously as he gently placed his hands on either side of her face, “Cass, he hit you!”

Cassidy gently grabbed both of his hands and lowered them down to his side. “I’m fine. I promise. This is nothing.” She reassured as she placed a small kiss on his cheek. “How about we go get some fresh air?”

Shawn nodded silently. He was at a loss for words. Here she stood before him as if nothing was wrong as if nothing had happened, but he could clearly see the pained look in her face. She was horrible at hiding things, especially from him. He quickly grabbed his jacket off his chair and draped it over Cassidy’s shoulders as they walked out the door into the cool night.


	13. Realization/Negotiation

Chapter 13: Realization/Negotiation

The trees towered over them, and the last glint of the setting sun burned orange before it disappeared behind them mountains. Cassidy leaned back against a huge oak and let out a heavy sigh.

“Kudos to you for what you did over dinner. The look on his face was priceless.” Cassidy said. “Though, I wanted to apologize for hid behavior. As you could tell he can be pretty uptight.”

“Not exactly the word I would have chosen, but okay.” Shawn said. “So, did you bring me all the out here just to throw me to the dogs?”

Cassidy could feel herself dying a little inside. The fact that Shawn heard her father say those cruel words broke her heart. “You heard that, huh?” She said.

“Yep,” Shawn said. “Every ill-conceived word.”

“Sorry,” Cassidy said. “What my father did to you was inexcusable. I honestly wouldn’t blame you if you never want to see me again after tonight.”

Shawn crouched down in front of Cassidy and smiled. “Nah,” Shawn said. “I think I’ll stick around.”

“You seriously have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Spencer.” Cassidy said. “He will do anything and everything in his power to see us not work out.”

“I’ll take my chances,” He said.

Cassidy flushed at his words, but couldn’t avert her gaze from him. Shawn grinned, making her heart race a little. As she stared at him, she couldn’t stop thinking about how he had so much power over her. She finally realized what this feeling was. She was in love. Cassidy pressed her forehead to his, and she could feel his breath blowing across her mouth and down her neck, making her tingle with desire.

“I think I’m in love with you,” She whispered. 

Shawn closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers. Cassidy closed her eyes and gripped her hand in the back of his hair. The kiss was perfect and beautiful. Everything seemed so right when she was with Shawn. She felt like a different person, a better person and not some damaged teenager. He kissed her so softly and tenderly that it made her whole body tingle.

He pulled away just as she was getting a little dizzy. “I know,” He said. “You’re powerless to resist me. You always have been.”

“Really?” Cassidy mused.

“Mm-hmm,” Shawn said.

“Oh, whatever.” Cassidy laughed. “Says the guy who would sit in a booth for hours on end and watched me as I worked, clearly you’re into me.”

“Me into you?” Shawn said.

“Yeah,” Cassidy replied.

“Okay, I admit I found you not unattractive and occasionally fun to be around.” Shawn said. “But…no definitely not.”

Cassidy smacked Shawn playfully in the shoulder and stood up. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Spencer.”

~Antiquity~

Cassidy lay in bed, eyes red-rimmed by the need for sleep, yet all she could do was stare at the ceiling as her mind replayed again and again what had happened earlier that night.He knew now that she was madly, foolishly in love with him.

She loved Shawn. She knew that now. She had longed her whole life to be loved, and it surprised her how much she liked the idea of Shawn caring for her the way he did. Smiling, Cassidy rolled out of bed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Though she had prepared herself for vigorous training first thing in the morning with her father since he’d returned home, nothing could ruin her day. That is until she turned the corner and met with a familiar face sitting at the breakfast table with her parents. The smile quickly vanished from her face. It was Agent Miller.

“Mornin’,” Agent Miller winked at Cassidy as he bit into a piece of golden brown toast. “Glad to see you’re up and about at the ass-crack of dawn.”

“Morning, sweetie,” Her mother smiled before she took a sip of coffee from her mug. “Come sit, your plate is in the microwave.”

Cassidy stared at Miller, then turned to her father. “What the hell is he doing here?” Cassidy said.

“Watch your mouth and come sit down like your mother told you to,” He said. “And to answer your question, I invited him over.”

Cassidy walked over to the microwave, grabbed her plate and took a seat directly across from her father. “May I ask why?” She said. “As I recall you’re not too keen on having new people over. Last night’s dinner should have been a clear example of that.”

David dismissed Cassidy’s snide remark. “I called him over to talk some damn sense into that thick skull of yours.” David said.

Cassidy slammed down her cup of orange juice with more force than necessary. “Dad, I told you I wasn’t attending the DEA’s PTT or the BAT.” Cassidy said. “Especially after the way you treated Shawn last night.”

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear last night, Cassidy,” David said. “You’re attending that exam, whether you like it or not, even if I have to drag you there myself. I did not spend all this time preparing you for the real world for you to just throw it away on some insignificant boy. You’re going and that’s final.”

“Cassidy, sweetie, maybe you should listen to your father,” Evelyn said. “Shawn is a sweet boy and I know you care a lot about him. But think about it honey, law enforcement has always been your dream. I know your pride is damaged but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, you’d be foolish not to take it. We just want what’s best for you and your future.”

Cassidy looked down at the table. She picked up her fork and bounced it on her napkin.

“What do you say kid?” Agent Miller said.

Cassidy stared at Agent Miller. “Fine,” She said, then turned to her father. “But on one condition.”

David placed his fork down and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You know I don’t negotiate, Cassidy.”

Cassidy scoffed. “Please,” She said. “I’m not a terrorist, I’m your daughter.”

“David, please,” Evelyn said. “If you want her to participate in that exam then you’ll hear her out.”

David scowled. “Fine,” He said. “Name it.”

“That I’m allowed to keep dating Shawn.” She said. “That means I’m allowed to go out at night for once, go out to dinner and to go his apartment to watch movies when invited.”

“You do realize his idea of ‘watching’ movies is just an excuse for him to slip into your pants, right?” Agent Miller said with a smirk,

Cassidy rolled her eyes and turned to Miller. “Oh, shut up.” She said. “He’s not like that.”

“Pfft, please.” Miller said. “If I was given a nickel every time I heard that excuse I’d be rich kid. He’s a guy, we only want one thing.”

“Oh, what do you know, rookie.” Cassidy said. “And besides, I didn’t ask for your opinion on the matter. This is between me and my parents, not you.”

David’s mouth quirked into a smirk. “Fine,” He agreed.

Cassidy arched an eyebrow and gave her father a look. It was easy, too easy. Even her mother had a hard time witnessing what she had just heard. What she had asked from him, he clearly would’ve turned it down in a heartbeat.

“Really,” She said, wearily. “What’s the catch, dad?”

David’s smirk widened into a smile, revealing perfect teeth.


	14. Enraged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this story was completed over a year ago...lol. My bad.

Chapter 14: Enraged

The Santa Cruz Mountains was a forty-two minute drive from Santa Clara and one of Santa Cruz’s most beautiful spots, a curving line of grass plains leading up to several small and isolated stands of old-growth forest.

As Shawn pulled the bike into the long driveway, he gave the scene a quick once-over. The house looked small from the front, but he knew that like many of its distant neighbors it was built down the steep hillside, and might have as many as three stories below the ones visible from the street. There was a tilted walkway cutting through a lush lawn toward the heavy oak front door.

Cassidy waited for Shawn to meet her by her car, and they fell into lockstep as they walked toward the oak door.

“So tell me again why your dad invited me to tag along?” Shawn said, curiously. “I just figured after sharing my thoughts of him the other night he’d never wanted to see my handsome face again.”

A small smiled etched itself onto Cassidy’s face at his words. In all honesty she had no clue why her father wanted Shawn to accompany her this afternoon to Jack’s, but the feeling in the pit of her stomach was telling her it wasn’t going to be good.

“Well, your guess is just as good as mine,” Cassidy said. “He said I was just going to have to wait to find out. Clearly he’s up to something: I just don’t know what yet.”

Before they’d made it halfway across the grass, her father and uncle stepped outside. “I think I know why he was so eager for me to come, Cass.” Shawn said. “He plans of putting me face down into the ground.”

Fists clenched, Cassidy stepped between them and Shawn. “What is all of this about, really?” Cassidy said. “Surely you two didn’t invite us over for a nice get together.”

David smirked. “You sure are slow to catch onto things, Cassidy.” He said. “You should already know by now I don’t approve of you dating, let alone under my roof. But, I’m willing to make one small exception.”

“I get it,” Shawn interrupted. “You’re testing me. You want to see if I’m even a bit good for, Cass.”

“No, that’s not it.” Cassidy whispered, then turned to her father. “You’re a real piece of work you know that, to even stoop so low, and to your own daughter nonetheless.”

“Okay, now I’m lost.” Shawn said, confused. 

Shawn thought maybe she should duck behind a tree to miss Cassidy’s brain shrapnel. But the look on Cassidy’s face suggested a level of distress no greater than mild irritation. “You just couldn’t let me have this one thing, this one small thing without having to make some type of scene. You two dragged us all the way out here and for what, so you can have the pleasure of showing him what makes me tick, to embarrass me? You’re both crazy. No, scratch that. You’re insane.” She said. “Let’s go, Shawn.”

Cassidy was about to turn back to the car, but her father grabbed her arm. “If he really cares about you, Cassidy, he’ll stick around after this.” David whispered in her ear, then gave a sharp nod to Jack.

Jack nodded with a sly smirk and took a few steps towards Shawn.

“Oh, relax, dude.” Shawn said.

“Sorry, kid.” Jack said.

Cassidy glared at her father. “You wouldn’t dare?” She said. “If there is a piece of you that remotely cares about me, you’ll order Jack to back off.”

“I’m looking out for you, making sure you’re not wasting your time with this boy, Cassidy. Consider this my blessing.” David said.

Cassidy pulled away from her father’s clutch. “You’re out of your damn mind!” She shouted, then turned to Shawn, only to have her father grabbed both of her wrists, kicked out the back of her legs, forcing her down onto her knees.

“Sit and watch.” He ordered.

Jack showed no indications of stopping. “Dude, I’m warning you, I have watched all of Bruce Lee’s movies,” Shawn said. “My body’s like a weapon.”

What happened next was enough to send Cassidy over the edge. Jack’s brought up his right fist and punched Shawn in the jaw, causing him to fly back and hit the ground with a thud.

“Shawn!” Cassidy screamed, then turned to her father with pleading eyes. “Call him off, please, I’m begging you.”

Shawn flipped onto his back and slowly started to sit up, clutching the right side of his face. “Ow, what the hell, man?” He said.

Jack then grabbed Shawn by the collar of his shirt and jabbed him in the side causing him to yelp in pain. Shawn fell to the ground and clutched his side, gasping for air.

“Stop it, please!” Cassidy pleaded.

“Come on, kid.” Jack taunted Shawn. “Fight back.”

Shawn shakily got onto two feet and sprang towards him. Jack was too quick. As he lunged forward he gave him enough room to grab him. Jack grabbed the back of Shawn’s shirt and kneed him in the abdomen. As Shawn once again fell back onto the ground Jack began punching him repeatedly.

Cassidy began to shake rapidly. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. The rage finally took over, all she could see was red. Her bottom quickly hit the floor as she moved her legs out from under her. She used all of her strength as she rolled backwards, forcing her father to fall on top of her.

Just before his body hit hers, she stuck her feet between them and pushed. She couldn’t help the smirk her lips twisted into as his body hit the ground.

Cassidy quickly pulled her legs up to her chest and placed her hands flat on the ground, next to her ears. Next, she rolled back so all of her weight was on her shoulders, kicked her legs directly into the air and pushed hard with her hands as soon as she felt the momentum shifting upwards and landed in a squat, completing the kick-up.

She then sprinted towards Jack to aid Shawn. “Get off of him,” She growled, lifting up her left arm and smacking him across the face. The force of Cassidy’s hit was so strong it knocked Jack completely off of Shawn.

Before Jack even had a chance to get on his knees, Cassidy was already behind him. She grabbed both of his arms and placed her right leg directly onto his back. Shawn cringed when he saw her smirk widen. “You’re so proud of these two arms, aren’t you?” She continued.

Jack turned his head and looked over his shoulder to Cassidy. “Stop!”

Shawn couldn’t move, all he could do was stare in horror.

~Flashback~

“I have a disorder known as Intermittent Explosive Disorder,” Cassidy said.

“Which means you go ape shit sometimes,” Shawn said.

Cassidy nodded. “Well that’s one way of putting it,” She replied. “I pretty much have it under control, but when it triggers it’s almost impossible for me to get it back under control.”

~End Flashback~

Cassidy couldn’t help but laugh at his desperate pleas and screams. She pulled on his arms and pressed her foot down on his back, almost completely disconnecting them both.

Shawn let out a shaky gasp as Jack fell onto the ground, unconscious.

Cassidy then turned to her father. “You’re the only one left,” She said, smirking. “I hope you let me have some fun.”

With a deranged look on her face, Shawn watched as she slowly marched towards her father.

Shawn swallowed nervously. “This isn’t, Cass.” He thought to himself. “What did you do to make her this way you crazy son of a bitch!”

Shawn quickly stood up and darted towards Cassidy and grabbed her right arm. “Cass, stop!”

Cassidy turned to Shawn with menacing eyes and clenched her right fist, hitting him square in the eye. “Don’t touch me!” She warned.

A brief, loud cry in pain was enough to snap her back into reality. Shawn fell onto his butt and clutched his left eye while Cassidy quickly stepped away from him. This was what her father wanted. She hurt someone she loved. Her heart started to race.

Cassidy continued to back up slowly, tears quickly welling in her eyes, but refused to let them fall. “I’m sorry,” She said through ragged breathing. “I’m so sorry, Shawn.”

Shawn slowly stood up and stepped towards her and tried to give her a hug, but she quickly backed away. She wrapped her arms around herself to make sure she didn’t touch him. This was precisely the reason why she didn’t want to fall in love, to get close to someone.

“Cass, it’s alright.” Shawn said, slowly advancing towards her. “It was an accident.”

Cassidy shook her head violently as the tears started to fall down her face. “It’s not okay, it’ll never be okay,” She sobbed. “This is exactly the reason why I didn’t want you to be with me, to care about me because it would all be taken away with one slip.”

Before Shawn could get in another word, she turned and ran towards her car.

“Cass!” Shawn called.

When she refused to stop, Shawn turned to David who was standing there with a smile on his face. “I hope you’re happy now,” Shawn said. “How could you do that to your own daughter you selfish prick?”

“Simple,” David replied. “To put her back on track, to show her what’s really important. Since she’s met you, she’s slacked immensely. She has far more important things to worry about. Stay away from my daughter or next time I won’t be so lenient.”

Shawn scoffed and turned towards the direction of his back. “Good luck with that, man.” He said. “I love your daughter. And if I have to get my ass kicked over and over, then so be it.”


	15. A Couple's Quarrel

She felt cold and numb.

Not because she was sitting on the swings in the middle of the night in the pouring rain at her favorite playground back in her childhood days. No, she felt this way because for what she had done.

It wasn’t the fact that she caused her uncle severe pain by dislocating both of his shoulders and most likely shattering the right side of his jaw with all of her strength. It was the fact that she caused pain to someone she loved dearly.

The tears fell harder as she replayed the scenario in her head. The sound of his pained cry shattered her. She hated herself. She hated her father. He turned her into this thing-this monster for his own selfish pleasure. 

Her hands gripped the rough links of the chain of the swing tightly. He deserved better, so much better.

She felt her phone vibrate in her right pocket once again, but refused to answer like the other several calls before that. She was so tired, exhausted from the years of training her father had put her through, not to mention the physical and mental abuse she sustained from him throughout the years.

The rain had finally slowed down to a light drizzle. Her head quickly snapped to the left as her body slightly turned to see what or who made the gravel shift behind her. It was Shawn.

“You’re going to get sick,” He said.

Cassidy gasped and quickly hopped off the swings. She was alone with the one person she was tempted to run away from.

“Don’t even think about it,” Shawn said.

“What?”

“You planning on running again,” He said, then took the swing she was previously sitting on. “I’ll be straight with you, Cass. It hurt, a lot. My eye is swollen shut and I would like nothing more than to put ice on it.”

Cassidy’s gaze fell to the ground. She couldn’t look at him, she couldn’t bear to the see the damage she inflicted on him.

“Then maybe you should go,” She said.

“I’m not finished talking,” He said. “I’ve been searching high and low for you all day. You didn’t answer any of my calls and I had to resort to calling your mom who thought you might be here.”

“Now I’ll admit, today wasn’t exactly the best day of my life.” He said. “I get my ass kicked in front of my girlfriend and on top of that she comes to my rescue…again.”

“I-“

Shawn held up a hand cutting her off. “I love you, Cass. I really do, but what I saw you do today-“ Shawn shook his head, trying to rid the memory from his mind. “I don’t want to see that look on your face again, ever.”

Cassidy nodded silently and quickly wiped her tears away. “I promise,” She said, her voice quivering. “I’m so sorry, Shawn. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you.”

“I know,” He said, standing up, then held out a hand to her. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Cassidy met his gaze. “Why?”

“Why, what?”

“After everything that’s happened today; my father, my uncle, me,” She said. “Why are you still so insistent on staying with me?”

Shawn smiled. “Like I said, I love you.” He said. “No amount of me getting my ass kicked is going to stop me from being with you, unless you want us to stop seeing each other?”

There was a long moment of silence. “Do you want to stop seeing each other?” Shawn repeated,

Cassidy didn’t answer. “Oh my god,” Shawn continued. “You want to stop seeing each other.”

“Shawn-“

“I can’t believe this,” Shawn said, pacing back and forth. “I poured my feelings out to you. I took an ass beating for you. “

“Shawn-“

“I mean I thought we had something good going on,” Shawn said. “And now you’re just going to call it quits.”

Smiling, Cassidy marched up to Shawn and placed both of her hands on either side of his face. “Shawn, shut up.” She commanded, then kissed him deeply on the lips.

Shawn pulled away slightly and pressed his forehead to her. “Wow,” He said, breathless.

The two young lovers continued to gaze at each other silently. No words were needed at the moment.

“Thank you,..Thank you.” She said. 

~ANTIQUITY~

Shawn pushed open the door to his apartment and led Cassidy inside. She couldn’t help but glance around the apartment-not only because it was so small, but because she couldn’t stop admiring his childish taste.

“You should probably put some ice on that eye,” Cassidy suggested.

Shawn shrugged. “Nah,” He said. “Doesn’t hurt anymore,”

“You won’t be saying that in the morning,”

Shawn led her to his bedroom and pulled out a long T-Shirt from his dresser and tossed it over in her direction.

“It might fit little big, but it’s all I got.” He said.

“Thanks,” She muttered,

Cassidy gently placed the T-shirt down onto the bed, then she lowered her gaze and unzipped her Frost-Free vest. 

Shawn stared at Cassidy. “I could have sworn the last time you were here you said I wasn’t going to see what’s under your clothes anymore?”

Cassidy giggled. “You’re partially blind at the moment.” She said. “I’m not all that concerned.”

“Hey, I might not be able to see anything out of my left eye, but my right is enjoying this for the both of them.” He replied.

Cassidy threw her head back and laughed. “You’re an idiot,”

Shawn walked over to his bed and sat down, letting out a small pained groan as he did so. “I get that a lot, have no clue why though.” He said.

“Really, no clue,” She said sarcastically.

It took Cassidy a lot longer to get down to her underwear knowing that Shawn was watching. Everything she was wearing seemed to have more buttons than she remembered, and her fingers slipped and fumbled with everyone. Somehow the laces on her standard tennis shoes had been tied into triple knots, and it took what felt like hours to undo them.

After a few more hours, Cassidy stood in front of Shawn, dressed in only her undergarments and a T-shirt, her bare feet adhering to the carpet.

“I really should get you some ice for that eye,” She said quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

Once Cassidy stepped out of the room, Shawn took that opportunity to get out of his drenched clothes and into something dryer and more comfortable. He winced as he lifted his T-shirt and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. The bruising was already starting to show.

“More than likely your ribs are just bruised.” Cassidy said as she stood at the doorway. “He went easy on you.”

Shawn pulled down his shirt and turned to Cassidy. “Is this what they put you through all the time?”

Cassidy smiled weakly and gestured Shawn to sit down on the bed while she gently placed the ice bag directly onto his eye.

“No,” She said. “It’s about ten times worse than what you went through. Broken ribs, broken bones, the list goes on.”

“Don’t you get tired of it?”

“Sometimes,” She said. “I enjoyed it more when it was just Uncle and Jack and I. I would always win our little spars. I’m afraid that’s all over now that dad’s home. He doesn’t hold back, especially not for his only child.”

Shawn lowered her arm from his eye. “You could always move in with me?” Shawn suggested hopefully.

She smiled. “No offense, but you don’t seem like the type of guy who’d like to share his dresser drawers for some girl.” She said.

“You’re not just some girl, Cass.” He said. “You’re my ass kicking girlfriend.”

Cassidy chuckled lightly. “Well anyway,” She said. “As tempting as it may sound, I have to decline. There’s no way in hell my parents would approve of that. Besides, they’re going to pay my way through the academy. I have no choice, I have to go.”

Shawn placed his hands on her hips and pulled her forward. “You don’t have to go,” He said. “We can always just leave Santa Clara, travel?”

Cassidy pulled away slightly and frowned. “You’re kidding, right?” She said. “This is my home. Shawn, I have to do this. My entire life I’ve dreamt about doing something great, making a difference and helping people. I-I can’t just throw that away. After I’ve gotten so far? I’d be dumb to throw all of that away.”

Shawn shook his head violently and stood up. “So if I left Santa Clara, you wouldn’t come?”

“Shawn-“

“Answer the question, Cass.”

She glared up at him. “I can’t believe you’re making me choose between my dream and you.” She said. “Just the other day you were happy for me that I received such an opportunity. Were you lying?”

“Cass-“

With a sinking heart, Cassidy’s eyes began to water. “So you were,” She said disgusted, then quickly reached for her clothes lying neatly folded on the dresser and quickly got changed. “Thanks a lot, Shawn. I at least thought you of all people were different, but it’s clear that everyone is the same. Selfish.”

“Cassidy!”

She turned and walked towards the apartment door. Shawn watched her go, then winced when he heard the apartment door slam.

“Great,”

~ANTIQUITY~

Evelyn, Cassidy’s mother jumped off from the couch at the sound of the front door opening.

“Where have you been?” She said, worriedly. “I’ve been worried sick about you and not so much as a phone call letting me know you’re okay.”

Cassidy tossed her car keys into the bowl sitting beside the door and sighed. “I’m fine,” She reassured. “I just needed some time to think is all.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question, Cassidy.” Evelyn said, irritably.

“I was at Shawn’s alright.” She snapped. “Geez, can’t I have five minutes to myself without you or dad breathing down my neck and interrogating me.”

“Cut the attitude, Cassidy.” Evelyn said. “We have a lot to discuss, especially after what happened with your Uncle Jack.”

Cassidy groaned. “The asshole had it coming,” She said. “He and dad should know better than to taunt me, especially when they are aware of how aggressive I can get.”

“You dislocated both of his shoulders, to the point where he’s going to need physical therapy,” Evelyn said, agitated. “Not to mention you fractured the right side of his face!”

Cassidy forced herself to suppress a grin. “Like I said, he had it coming.”

“Cassidy Leanne Reed!” Evelyn shouted. “No matter the situation, that does not excuse you to use that much force. I’ve told you countless times you needed to get that under control and calm down!”

“Calm down? What did you want me to do? He used Shawn as a freakin’ punching bag!” She shouted. “You of all people should know how bad the situation could’ve gotten. I spared him, he should be grateful!”

“That’s enough,” David commanded as he walked into the foyer.

Cassidy turned to her father and glared. “I have nothing to say to you,” She growled, then turned and marched upstairs to her bedroom.

She slammed her bedroom door, knocking a picture frame off the wall. She then marched to her bed and reached for a decorative pillow and placed it directly onto her face and screamed out her frustrations.


	16. The Exams Begin Part 1

Cassidy glanced at her phone, then looked down at the pasta congealing on the plate in front of her. When the waiter had dropped it on her table thirty-five minutes ago, Cassidy picked up the silver fork and made an attempt to eat a little of it.

It wasn’t the quality of the food that was turning Cassidy’s stomach. She’d eaten at Caffe Bella several times since it opened, and the Spaghetti and other various pastas were always to die for.

Cassidy looked back at her phone and sighed heavily. Shawn hadn’t called her in over a week and she was beginning to wonder if there was anything still going on between them. Even though he acted like a self-centered asshole that night back at his apartment, she forgave him.

All she wanted now was to hear his voice, to have him hold her and reassure her everything was going to be okay, even if it was a lie. She needed him, now more than ever. The DEA’s BAT and PTT had been moved up. The psychical training exam had been scheduled for the following morning and she was nothing more than a nervous wreck.

Cassidy looked at her phone again. He wasn’t going to call.

It was time to head home. She checked all the tables in the restaurant, in case Shawn had slipped behind one while she was staring at her food, but she was the only customer.

Cassidy slid out along her bench, then grabbed her wallet and left a small tip at the table before walking out of the restaurant. 

~ANTIQUITY~

Shawn glanced at his phone, then looked down at the popcorn shrimp and clam strips the waiter had just deposited on his table. The smell of perfectly fried seafood filled his senses and made his stomach growl.

He’d taken a seat at Shindokdo, only because it gave him a clear view of the small Italian restaurant across the street, a clear view of where she was sitting.

He’d chosen the first thing he saw on the menu and didn’t expect to eat any of it, having polished off a burger and fries at the diner where she had once worked, somehow expecting to see her there. But now that the food was here, there was no way he was going to leave a speck behind.

Shawn sighed deeply and picked up his phone, flipping it open. He pressed the center button, accessing the main menu and scrolled through his contacts until he stopped at her name.

He pressed it, displaying her number across his screen. He sighed once more, then hit the send button. After the first ring he quickly flipped his phone shut. He couldn’t do it.

Shawn didn’t want to admit it. But he was a coward. He screwed up their relationship significantly and wanted to fix it, but didn’t know how. He loved her, more than any other woman he’d ever been with. How could he have been so selfish? How could he have expected her to just drop everything for him?

A small gasp escaped his lips as he saw her slide out of her booth. Shawn quickly scrawled his name across the bottom of the credit card slip the waitress must have placed on the table while he was staring through the window and stood up. 

He was appallingly bad. By the time she was halfway to her car, Shawn was considering jumping up and down screaming Cassidy’s name, just to see if she’d notice that. Even when Shawn hopped on his bike, Cassidy didn’t look around to see him.

If Cassidy simply inclined her head a few degrees, she would’ve spotted him. But she remained oblivious. He turned on the ignition and drove off.

~ANTIQUITY~

“Remember, Cassidy,” Her father said. “This is what you’ve been training your entire life for. The blood, toil, sweat and tears you’ve shedded will pay off today. You show them what you’re capable of and you show no mercy, do you understand?”

Cassidy hesitantly nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good,” He said, then turned. “I’ll be watching from the bleachers, make me proud for once.”

Cassidy clenched her fists. “Yeah, yeah,” She muttered.

Before Cassidy could begin her stretching exercises, the heavy door swung open behind Cassidy and several men, followed by one she recognized as Agent Miller stepped outside.

“Are you ready?” Agent Miller said enthusiastically.

Cassidy scowled. “Do I even really have a choice in the matter?”

“Perk up, kid.” He said, then tossed her a pair of sweats. “Now change out of those clothes and meet us back on the field in five.”

Cassidy scoffed and tossed the sweats back at him. “No thanks,” She said. “I’m perfectly comfortable with what I have on.”

“PTT requires-“

“I don’t care what the PTT requires,” She said annoyed. “If you’ll want me to participate so you can evaluate my skill set, then I suggest you let me do this my way. I’m comfortable with what I’m wearing and I don’t need something hindering my movements.”

Miller sighed irritably. “Fine,” He said. “Just get in line with the others.”

Cassidy nodded, then turned to stand in line with the others. She leaned forward slightly to take a quick glance at the ten men who were waiting patiently for orders. From what she could gather, they seemed like a bunch of simpletons who wouldn’t offer her a decent challenge.

She was starting to become antsy as she watched the scouts and Federal Agents discuss pointless things that had nothing to do with the PTT they were all about to take. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and go home for wasting her time.

Agent Miller noticed the irritable look on the young teens face and whispered something to the man standing beside him. The man nodded and took a step forward towards Cassidy and glared down at her.

The man standing there was over six feet tall with dark black hair and ropy muscles that come from a lifetime of lifting weights. His uniform seemed to have been designed to show off his physique-black venture pants that exposed most of his thighs and a white polo shirt that was tight across the pecs and featured the stencil of a badge and official logo.

“What’s your name, maggot?” He commanded.

Cassidy glared in return.

“Cassidy Leanne Reed,”

“Excuse me?”

Cassidy’s left eye involuntary twitched. She hadn’t known this man for more than ten seconds and she was already getting irritated with him.

“Cassidy Leanne Reed, Sir.”

“Aren’t you a little too young to be here?”

Cassidy smirked.

“I was told by one of your own there would be a decent challenge here for me, that I wouldn’t be disappointed.” She replied. “So far I’m not very impressed.”

The PT Officer chuckled and turned to Agent Miller. “Really, Erik,” He said. “This is the kid you’ve been so hyped up about lately?”

Miller gave him a sharp nod.

“Give her a chance,” He replied. “You might just be impressed by what you see.”

The PT Officer scoffed and turned back to Cassidy. “Alright, then,” He said. “You’re up first, kid.”

Cassidy nodded. The PT Officer gestured the others to step away, giving he and Cassidy enough room to spar. While Cassidy tightened her tactical gloves, Miller stepped beside her.

“I just vouched for you, Cassidy.” He whispered. “You better be as good as your father claims you to be. Don’t disappoint me. I have a lot of money riding on this fight.”

Cassidy chuckled lightly. “You men and your gambling habits,” She said. “Don’t worry, Agent. I won’t disappoint.”

Miller placed a hand on her shoulder. “Then show me what you’re capable of,” He said. “Show me what your father made you to be.”

Cassidy nodded once again and Agent Miller stepped aside and rejoined the others. She then exhaled deeply and got into fighting stance. Her entire future rested in her hands. This is what her father had prepared her for. This is what she worked so hard for.

Cassidy didn’t know what persuaded her to turn her head slightly to the right, but as she did, she didn’t know if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Shawn?

There was no doubt in her mind; she was stunned to see him there, so stunned she let her guard down right as the PT officer began charge.

She let out a loud grunt as the PT Officer’s fist connected with the left side of her face, causing her to stumble back and fall down onto the ground with a thud.

Shawn winced.

David angrily stood up from the bleachers. “What the hell was that, Cassidy?!” He shouted. “You could’ve easily blocked that! Get your ass up, now!”

Rolling her eyes, Cassidy wiped the blood off her lip and stood up.

“Is that all you got, kid?” The PT Officer taunted. “If so, this is going to be an easy match.”

Cassidy scoffed and got back into defensive position. “Don’t sound so cocky,” She said. “I’m just getting started.”

The PT Officer chuckled.

“I think your daddy’s full of shit,” He said with a smirk. “I don’t think you have what it takes to be one of us.”

Cassidy clenched her fists tightly. “Oh, you won’t be saying that while I have you down on the ground and beating you ass to kingdom come.” She said. “I guarantee you in the next two minutes I’ll have you pleading for mercy.”

The PT Officer’s smirk widen, revealing perfect white teeth. “I love ‘em feisty,” He said, lifting up his fists. “Come on sweetie, I’ll let you have this next one.”

Now it was Cassidy’s turn to smirk.

“Suit yourself,”


	17. The Exams Begin Part 2

Cassidy watched her opponent closely as his right leg came sailing towards her at a quick pace. She quickly bent her knee high, absorbing the impact with the side of her leg. As she lifted her bent knee, she bent her right arm in defense position and brought her elbow near her bent knee and her hand to the side of her head. After blocking his kick, she was able to counter- attack with a kick of her own which he easily blocked.

A smirk curled up on the edge of Cassidy’s lips.

“I have to admit,” Cassidy said, wiping the bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. “You’re a worthy opponent. I’ve never fought someone who could match my skills perfectly, let alone deflect my moves in such a timely manner. But as fun as this has been I’m going to have to end our little match, I have something important that needs attending to.”

The PT Officer balled his right fist and placed it under his chin, slightly to the right and pushed to the left, making a cracking sound. He then placed an open palm across the underside of his chin and pushed to the right to crack the other side.

“I take it you’re referring to the dipshit that’s been standing by the bleachers all morning,” He said. “Listen kid, if you want to make it with us here at the DEA there’s no time for petty little relationships. The job requires your full attention 24/7, so take my advice sweetie, ditch the loser.”

Cassidy clenched her fists tightly, so tight her nails began to dig into the fabric of her tactical gloves.

Calm down, Cassidy. He’s taunting you, trying to make you lose your cool. That’s what he wants.

Cassidy chuckled lightly and sprinted towards him.

“I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work!” She said.

Due to her stupidity for and haste to end the match quickly, she made a beginners mistake. As she lunged forward she gave him enough room to grab her.

“Shit!” She cursed.

Cassidy gritted her teeth as she tried to break from her assailants attack. She was starting to feel light headed from his headlock and the voices shouting her name seemed to become more distant as she was beginning to lose consciousness. 

“Come on, Kid.” The PT Officer whispered in her ear as he tightened his hold around her neck with more force. “Just give up; it’ll all be over soon.”

“No,”

As the darkness began to overcome her, Shawn’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Don’t listen to him, Cass!” Shawn shouted. “Stop holding back and show him what you can do!” 

She did her best to nod and quickly grabbed the PT Officer’s arm that was placed under her chin. She then dug in with both of her hands and pulled down. Pulling down on the assailants arm, she created space between his arm and her neck. She pushed her head towards her opponent’s arm that was behind her head.

Cassidy then proceeded to fall backwards causing her opponent’s back to fall to the ground with most of his weight on his shoulder. She then brought her legs parallel to the ground, allowing her to get one of his foot hooks out from her legs.

She forced her head backwards into the fighter's arm, breaking the grip he had on his opposite arm, relieving pressure. She then walked her feet out away from her opponent's foot hook, pushing her shoulders towards his chest and bringing her feet out and free from the hooks.

Cassidy maintained control of his arm that was under her chin. She then pushed backwards across from her opponent’s body and positioned her weight across his chest.

His guard was completely down, allowing her to place the final attack.

She quickly rolled to the side and pressed her thumb into his radial nerve, temporarily paralyzing his arm as well as giving her time for the next step, activating the brachial plexus tie-in.

She quickly located the brachial plexus tie-in that was two inches below the shoulder near the corner of the pectoral muscle an about inch above the armpit. She activated the brachial plexus tie-in, using her thumb while still applying pressure to the radial nerve, deadening her opponent’s arm and allowing her to move closer.

Cassidy applied pressure to the brachial plexus origin found at the base of his neck, directly above his collarbone. Activating it through pressure she rendered him unconscious.

She took in several deep breaths trying to get her breathing back under control before she turned to the scouts and Agent Miller.

“Are we done here?” Cassidy asked breathlessly as she stood up.

The trainees, scouts and Agent Miller simply stared at the young woman in awe. There were no words for what they had just witnessed. For the first time someone had officially taken down Cooper. He was the best the DEA had to offer for the PTT Exam and yet a girl took him down through a mere pressure point.

Cassidy sighed tiredly.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” She muttered.

She honestly didn’t want to waste anymore time there than she already had. Every second of that fight was merely focused on the thought of Shawn being there than the actual fight itself.

Cassidy couldn’t help but grin at his presence. To her he made everything better. It didn’t matter what other people thought of him, all that mattered was what she thought. Now she was less than fifteen feet away from him and she could feel her heart trying to burst its way out through her chest as she closed in on him, but the smile was quickly washed from her face as her father grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

“What in the hell was that,” Her father growled. “You dragged out that fight longer than you needed to. You were distracted throughout the entire fight because of that ‘boy’!”

Cassidy sighed impatiently.

“For one, that ‘boy’ has a name and his name is Shawn so start using it.” Cassidy hissed. “Secondly, I’m not here for you, I’m here because I want to be. Christ dad, I love you but you can be overbearing and a total ass sometimes. I’m doing things on my own terms now and if that means I want to hold back then so be it. So back off, please.”

And with those final words, Cassidy pulled away from his clutch and ambled over to meet Shawn. 

“Sorry about that,” Cassidy said. “I would have been here a lot sooner but dad always has to throw in his two cents.”

“No problem,” Shawn said. “It’s hard to move fast when you’re stapled to a lead weight.”

Cassidy chuckled lightly.

“You never told me you’re Vulcan.” Shawn joked.

Cassidy shrugged.

“You never bothered to ask.” She replied.

“Hey,” Shawn said, then turned slightly as he pointed over to his bike. “I was just about to go grab something to eat, wanna come?”

Cassidy nodded.

“I’d like that.”

~ANTIQUITY~

They managed to track down a 50’s-style diner with a sign proudly advertising HOT DOGS AS BIG AS YOUR HEAD AND BURGERS THAT MAKE THEM LOOK SMALL. Once they were seated in a red-vinyl booth the two sat quietly across from one another and glanced down at their menus.

“So,” Shawn finally spoke. “Wanna grab a movie after this?”

Cassidy inwardly sighed. He was going to try and dodge what happened that night. As soon as the waitress had departed with their order Cassidy decided to say what was really on her mind. She just wasn’t going to drop the subject. Even though she’d forgiven him for that night he really did hurt her.

“You never called,” She said. “I waited for you, Shawn. Not once did you make an attempt to call me or even apologize for your behavior that night.”

Shawn ran through his catalog of response scenarios, and none of them fit the situation. Even his ultimate fallback of sticking a fork into the waitress’ eye and running away didn’t seem appropriate. He was hoping she wouldn’t have confronted him about that night, but he knew sooner or later they were going to have to talk about what happened that night.

Shawn ran his hands down his face. “I did call…or I tried to at least.” He said, then leaned across the table and cupped her hands in his. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I lied to you and for being a complete jerk about it. I just…I shouldn’t have expected you to drop everything just for me. I really didn’t expect you to go through with it with your father breathing down your neck and all. I figured he pressure you to the point where you weren’t interested in it anymore. But when you said your parents were paying your way through it finally hit me. We wouldn’t be together anymore. You’d be too busy with school and you’d probably lose interest in me.”

Cassidy looked at Shawn, surprised. “Who said anything about us breaking up?” She said. “Shawn, I’d make time for us you should know that by now. I quit my job so I could be with you more because I love you. Sure things might be a little rough the first few months when I start the academy but that’s not going to stop us from seeing each other. You have nothing to worry about.”

Shawn had done some stupid things in his past such as stealing a car and going to jail because of it, then picked up gambling when he first moved here to Santa Clara that is until he met Cassidy. But all of that seemed insignificant compared to how he misinterpreted that night. He in fact felt like a dumbass.

Shawn snapped back into reality when he heard Cassidy speak once again. “I honestly didn’t expect to see you cheering me on today.” Cassidy spoke softly. “What baffles me is how you knew the exam had been moved up. Care to explain?”

Shawn’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. Was it possible Cassidy was onto him about tailing her all week like some psycho-stalker boyfriend?

“You sly dog, you’ve been following me, haven’t you?” She said.

“Cass-“

“I can’t tell you how happy I am you followed me.” She said. “Thank you.”

Shawn studied Cassidy’s words closely as he studied the face across from him. No matter which we he looked at them, they made no sense.

“You’re thanking me for spying on you?” Shawn said finally.

“Yes,” Cassidy said.

“For violating your privacy?”

“Yes,” Cassidy said, then leaned across the table and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Because it means you care, even though you do it to a creep.”

“So you’re not mad?” Shawn said confused.

“Nope,” She said. “A little weirded out but no, I’m not mad.”

“I love you,” He said.

“Yeah you do.” She said, smiling.

The waitress came by their table and deposited their food down in front of them. Shawn looked up at the woman. “Can we get these in a to-go box, please?”

“Sure,” The woman smiled, then turned to go retrieve two food containers.

“Thank you,”

Cassidy looked at Shawn confused. “I was thinking we could take these back to my place.”

“Oh, okay.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Shawn and Cassidy stopped outside his apartment door. Shawn moaned and pushed her against the door, pressing his body against hers as he kissed down the side of her neck. He honestly didn’t know how they got into this position, it was all a blur. One moment they were outside the restaurant and the next thing he knew they were making out. Not that he didn’t mind and he certainly didn’t hear any complaints coming from Cassidy.

Shawn smiled against her neck as he fished his keys out from his right pocket and jammed the key into the keyhole, but suddenly stopped mid turn when he ‘saw’ something in the window’s reflection, two men sitting on a bench across the street from his apartment.

Those are the guys from the diner.

Cassidy pulled away slightly. “What’s wrong?” She said breathlessly.

He smiled. “Nothing,” He lied, leading her inside his apartment quickly. He then turned around and looked over his shoulder before shutting the door.

How did they know where to find me? I figured those two would be long gone by now after what happened that night. I guess we just opened a can of worms, now the problem is how I’m going to fix this without dragging Cass into it again.


	18. Acceptance-I think not

The next few weeks went off without a hitch. Shawn had kept a watchful eye out for the two men at the diner that he’d seen previously sitting across the street from his apartment, but was unable to catch sight of them again. Though, he hoped that was the last time he would see them lingering around his place.

As for Cassidy, the first two weeks were hectic with the DEA’s PTT and BAT. However, she managed to complete all of said requirements before the deadline. Now it was a waiting game and the test results were expected to arrive any day.

~ANTIQUITY~

“So, how’s Shawn?” Evelyn said with a knowing smirk as she passed Cassidy a ceramic plate to dry off. 

The teenager sighed. She should have seen this coming. Oh, why off all days did she have to offer to help her mother out with the dishes? She took the plate from her mother’s hands and grabbed the dish towel lying on the counter and began to dry the plate off in a circular motion. 

Cassidy tore her eyes away from the window to look at her mother.“Great,” Cassidy said quickly. “He’s doing great.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes and looked back out the window. The world on the other side of the glass was dark and dreary. It was rare for Santa Clara to have rainstorms, but tonight was one of those rare nights.

The sky was pitch black, the wind was whipping the leaves off the trees, and the lights were flickering uncontrollably. A bright light outside the window filled the large kitchen for a moment before the roaring sound of thunder followed it.

“Oh, come on sweetie you don’t have to be so shy around me, I’m your mother you can talk to me about anything.” She smiled. “Have the two of you gotten you know ‘physical’?”

Cassidy’s cheeks flushed pink. She never felt so humiliated in her life. The plate she was holding slipped through her fingers. With quick reflexes she caught the plate with ease before it managed to hit the ground and shattered into tiny little pieces.

“Christ mom, this is exactly why I don’t like talking to you about these things.” She said. “You always manage to strike up a conversation and turn it into an awkward one.”

Evelyn chuckled softly and shook her head. “What, I’m your mother. I’m curious as to know if my daughter is having intercourse and is using the protection I provided for her in case one day she decides she’s ready.”

Cassidy placed the plate down in the dish rack and proceeded to the next one. “Geez, mom I’m still a virgin alright.” She said uncomfortably. “And yes, I’m still on the damn pill.”

“Do you want more?” Evelyn asked.

“Mom!”

“Just answer the question, Cassidy.” Evelyn said. “It’s okay to want more in your relationship as long as you’re ready for it. I was a little older than you when-“

Cassidy sighed.

“I really, really don’t want to hear another story about you and dad’s sex life. I swear if I hear another one of those I’ll scratch my eyes out from the horrible images you placed in my head.” She said. “If I tell you will you please get off my back?”

Evelyn smiled at her daughter. “Fine,” She said.

“Yes,” Cassidy said honestly. “I want more from him and I can tell he wants the same, but he doesn’t pressure me into doing anything I’m not comfortable with unless I’m ready. I just…I don’t know how to tell him that’s what I want without sounding like a slut.”

Evelyn laughed lightly and gave her daughter a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’re not a slut,” She said. “When you’re ready just tell him. Just say. “Shawn, let’s have sex!””

Cassidy smiled and shook her head. “Great advice mom,” She said sarcastically. “It’s nice to know my own mother is encouraging me to have sex.”

She felt dirty as that certain word rolled off her tongue.

“I’m not encouraging,” She said. “As much as I would like for you to wait it’s not like I can stop you two from doing anything physical.”

Cassidy opened her mouth to speak but before she managed to get the first word out the doorbell rang throughout the house. “Thank god,” Cassidy said and tossed the dish towel onto the counter and ran through the corridor to see who the unexpected visitor was that was stopping by late in the evening. 

Cassidy smiled at the man standing before her, Agent Miller. For the past month this man had stopped by her house every other day. She supposed he was lonely and didn’t have family for around here. So her mother brought him in like he was one of her own. Of course her parents didn’t mind his company. They actually liked him, surprisingly. And he was slowly growing on Cassidy as well, sadly she wished her parents, well more father liked Shawn as much as he did Miller.

“Thought I’d take the liberty of hand delivering this to you myself,” He said as he handed Cassidy the manila envelope.

“You came all the way out here just to drop off an envelope late at night and in the pouring rain nonetheless.” She said curiously. “What is it?”

“Take a wild guess,” Miller said

“Shut up, it came in!?” Cassidy said, ripping the manila envelope out of his hand excitedly.

Miller smiled. “Yep.”

Cassidy stared at the manila envelope in her hands then up to Miller. “I’m too nervous, I can’t open it.” She said, then handed him the envelope back. “You do it.”

Evelyn walked into the foyer. “What’s going on?”

Cassidy turned to her mother with a grin on her face. “The test results came in,” She said.

“Well, then let’s hear it!” Evelyn said excitedly. “Open it!”

“No need, I already know the outcome of the results.” He said. “Out of the five who made it to the written assessment, that’s with you included. Three out of five made it with one score exceptionally high and the others passing by a hair. The student with the top score was you, Cassidy. You scored a 96/100, an almost perfect score. The highest score this agency has ever come across.” He said. “Congratulations,”

“Holy crap, I passed!” She shouted excitedly as she threw her arms around Miller’s neck. “I freakin’ passed!”

She pulled away then embraced her mother. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” She said. “There was no doubt in my mind you couldn’t do it.”

“I gotta tell dad!” She said.

“Hold up,” Miller said. “There’s still a lot we need to discuss. By far you’re the youngest who’s ever applied to take the exam and has passed. Required age to be employed with the Drug Enforcement Agency is twenty one. You young lady are sixteen and won’t be turning seventeen until sometime next year. That’s still quite a ways from being the required age. Though, my employers are still battling this out with the state for you to join us when you’re officially done with the state’s requirements from the police academy as well as a few classes under your belt from the local college.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s great. Something you really need to discuss with my parents.” Cassidy said, then grabbed the manila envelope from Miller’s hands. “But in the mean time I’m going to tell dad the great news!”

As she ran through the corridor and towards the back of the house where her father’s shed was located she could hear Miller shouting her name for her to come back, but she was too excited and ignored his call.

When she reached her father’s shed slammed the manila envelope down on his table and grinned. “Read it and weep old man,” She said proudly. “Test results are in and I think you’ll be pleased.”

Her father sighed as he placed his gun and magazine clip down onto the table and turned to Cassidy. He grabbed the manila folder from the table and pulled the tab. Once opened, he pulled the papers out and skimmed through the contents.

“What the hell is this crap?” He growled as he tossed the envelope aside, the papers scattering on the desk.

Cassidy stiffened at his harsh words but said nothing.

“You scored a 96 out of a 100?” He continued. “If you weren’t so damn preoccupied with that boyfriend of yours it could’ve been a perfect score, but no, you rushed and you got sloppy.”

She winced at his words, looking absolutely miserable. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“You’re kidding, right?” Cassidy said in disbelief. “The DEA’s exam is the most rigorous test this state has to offer. I passed just like you wanted and with flying colors I might add and you’re upset because I missed two questions, are you serious?”

“That’s not the point, Cassidy.” He said. “The point was is that I’ve spent years training you to be the perfect asset and shoved countless amounts of valuable knowledge into that small brain of yours. Everything I taught you was on that test and you stroll in here all ecstatic and proud of yourself when I know damn well you could’ve aced that test with a perfect score.”

The teenager’s eyes suddenly dropped to the floor as she gritted her teeth.

“I’ve done everything you’ve requested of me.” She said quietly, her voice surprisingly soft and…wounded. “What more could you possibly want for me, when will I ever be good enough for you?”

“When you decide to show me real improvement,” He said as he stood up from his seat. “That’s when you’ll be good enough.”

As her father left, her whole body shook with anger. She literally couldn’t control herself, she couldn’t breathe. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she counted to ten, trying to control the rage that wanted to leave her body. It didn’t work so she continued to count.

The conversation played over and over in her head and she could no longer control her anger. The rage officially took over and she stormed out of the shed. 

“You should have never come home!” Cassidy growled as she jumped on her father’s back and wrapped an arm around his throat, chocking him from behind. “You’re like the plague. Everything was going great until you decided to come back!”

David grabbed Cassidy’s arm and swung her over this shoulder, causing her to land hard on her back, but that didn’t stop her from finishing what she started. She rolled to her side and quickly got to her feet as she swung her left arm only to have him block with ease.

“Why can’t you just be happy for me?” She cried angrily reeling her arm back to land another attack. As her arm thrusted forward David balled his right hand into a fist and hit her square in the chest, knocking her down onto the soaked ground, breathless.

Evelyn and Miller ran out of the house when they heard the commotion.

“Stop it you two!” Evelyn shouted through the heavy rain. “Please,”

“Wait here, I’ll break it up,” Miller said, rushing towards the brawl only to have Evelyn grab his arm refraining him from approaching the two.

“No, don’t,” Evelyn said. “If you go over there now you’ll just end up getting hurt in the process.”

David walked over to Cassidy and placed both hands around her throat and lifted her up from the ground with ease. “Is this how you want to play this, Cassidy?” He growled. “You dare pick a fight with me, your own father? What’s the very first thing I taught you not to do in a fight?”

“David, stop!” Evelyn pleaded. “You’re hurting her!”

“Quiet, Evelyn.” David warned, then turned his attention to Miller when he saw that he was itching to break them apart. “And you, you stay out of this, this has nothing to do with you.”

The throat around Cassidy’s neck tightened. “Answer the question,” He said, shaking her slightly.

“To,” Cassidy gasped. “Never pick a fight with someone you know is stronger than you.” 

“Why?”

“Because there’s a high probability the fight will lead to failure.” She replied.

David brought up his knee, kneeing her in the abdomen, the impact knocking what oxygen she had left. He then released his grip on Cassidy’s throat letting her collapse onto the ground gasping for air.

“Stupid child,”

Without another word, David left the backyard, closing the door loudly behind him. Evelyn rushed to her daughter’s side alongside Miller.

Clutching her abdomen, Cassidy curled into a ball, in the freezing rain, gasping for air, trying to comfort herself through the pain.

As soon as her mother’s hands touched her, Cassidy recoiled from her touch.

Tears welled in her eyes. “Don’t,” She sniffled. “Just don’t.”

“Honey, what happened?” She said gently.

The tears began to fall harder. “I’m nothing but a failure in his eyes.”

~ANTIQUITY~

She couldn’t stay in that house, not for a second more. She had to leave, at least for a day to cool off. She wanted to feel wanted, safe, loved and there was only one person that could provide her that, Shawn.

Lights still glowed, reflecting off the wet ground in distorted patches of bright color. The rain drowned out all other sound, but she could see several lights on in surrounding buildings. The rain couldn't quell Santa Clara’s bustling night life completely, but it seemed nobody was crazy enough to be out in the downpour but her.

Cassidy hurried through the empty streets, towards Shawn’s apartment, praying that he would be there. In retrospect, she probably should have called him first to make sure he was home but it was a little late for that, considering she hadn't even brought her phone with her.

She got out of her car and let herself into the drab hallway of concrete and peeling paint, knowing her way by now to Shawn’s apartment.

She raised her hand to knock on the door, knowing for sure now that she was out of her goddamned mind for considering asking the question she was about to ask. If she had to lose it to someone, it might as well be Shawn, she trusted him, loved him and he the same. She couldn't believe she was going to ask this of him.

She knocked three times, firmly and a little urgently and waited for a reply, chewing her bottom lip nervously as she listened for any noise from within that would tell her he was there.

Nothing.

Cassidy knocked again, louder and more insistent this time and after a long and almost unbearable pause, the door opened and there was Shawn standing before her, looking quite comfortable in a form fitting T-shirt and sweats.

"Cass?" he asked, clearly perplexed as to why she had come to him so late at night, soaked to the bone and without any prior warning, but his beautiful Hazel eyes held worry as he took in her drenched form huddled on his doorstep.

Her clothes hung off of her, making her look even more petite than she actually was and for a moment, she seemed very vulnerable as golden orbs looked up at him.

"Hey," Cassidy said a little sheepishly, realizing she must look like hell. She found herself wishing she looked more presentable while simultaneously wondering why she cared. This was Shawn after all. He had seen her at her best and her worst.

Shawn stood aside to let her enter but still looked at her curiously, even as he shut the door behind her.

Before Shawn had the chance to say a word, she was upon him, hands clinging to him desperately as her mouth pressed hungrily to his. Shawn gently grabbed her wrists and pulled away slightly, breaking their kiss.

"What happened?" he asked.

Tears escaped from beneath her eyelashes, cutting wet trails down her cheeks. “I just…I try so hard you know. And no matter how much I try it’ll never be enough for him.” She replied, lifting her eyes to meet his. “I hate him, I hate him so much, Shawn.”

Shawn gently brushed her wet bangs away from her face. “Hey, you don’t ever have to worry about feeling that way around me. Your dad’s an asshole and we both know it.” He spoke softly, gently wiping away the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. “You’re perfect and I love you just the way you are. You don’t ever have to change or prove yourself. Not for me, your dad or anyone else for that matter.”

Cassidy closed her eyes, letting the tears fall freely at his sweet words. She pressed her forehead to his, his breathing blowing across her mouth and neck making her tingle with desire. Shawn closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers, stealing her breath away.

Her heart began to race as she kissed him back with the same intensity, making her body thrum with excitement. She honestly loved this man more than life itself and would do anything for him. Cassidy wrapped her arms around Shawn’s neck as his hands grabbed her thighs and hoisted her up as he pressed her against his apartment door as he kissed down her neck, biting gently on the skin making her moan lightly.

She ran her hands down his back and pulled his t-shirt up, trailing her fingers up his back as she pulled it over his head and threw it on the floor

“Shawn,” she whispered. “Make me forget for a while.”

She leaned forward to press chaste kisses to his neck, trialing them down his throat and down to his collarbone, her touches turning hungrier as she went.

“Forget?” He murmured, enjoying the sensation of her lips touching his skin.

“The exam, my father whom I’m not good enough for, this town, all of it, Shawn. Help me forget, just for a little while.”

Her pain held a pained edge to it. The pain of failure and helplessness and it broke his heart to hear her like that.

“Cass,” He said softly. He wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault, that she was doing the very best she could and he was proud of her for what she had accomplished. She was far stronger, smarter than her father gave her credit for and that she shouldn’t berate herself for what he’d thought of her. 

But before he could form the words of his tongue, slender fingers found themselves at the waistband of his pants.

“Please,” She breathed, begged.

He groaned heatedly and threw her over his shoulder, causing her to squeal at the sudden gesture. “Oh, screw it.” He said as he carried her towards her bedroom. “When you ask like that, how can I say no?”

A/N: I really, really wanted to do the lemon but I had to consider the younger readers on here. If you want the lemon, message me your email and I’ll send it to you. Reviews, let me know what ya think!


	19. The Morning After

Shawn awoke to his cell phone singing its merry little tune into the blackness of his bedroom. He fumbled for it irritably, checking the light up display to discover it was almost five in the morning and that an unknown number was calling him.

He jabbed at the button to accept the call and rolled onto his back with the phone pressed to his ear.

"Hello?" he rasped, his voice still hoarse and heavy with sleep.

"Shawn?" Came her voice, trembling enough for him to notice even over the phone.

"Mrs. Reed?" he said with concern, his exhaustion immediately melting away.

"Is she there?" she said, her voice wavering unsteadily as if she were on the verge of tears. "Please tell me my daughter is there because she never made it home last night?”

He propped himself on his elbow and turned to his lover sleeping soundly beside him. “Yeah,” He said, fumbling the phone to his ear as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, she’s here. She’s fine, she’s sleeping right now.”

Evelyn let out a soft sigh of relief, glad her daughter was at least somewhere safe and not lying in a ditch somewhere. “Would you please let her know that I called?” She said.

“I’ll let her know,” Shawn replied.

“Thank you, Shawn.” She said.

After finishing their conversation, Shawn shut the phone with a snap and placed it back down on the nightstand before turning back around and wrapping his arms tightly around his sleeping lover.

~ANTIQUTY~

Cassidy’s ascent to full consciousness was gentle and leisurely, her mind lingering in the realms of her dreams as if hesitant to return to reality. Before even opening her eyes she was aware of the wonderfully relaxed state of her body, her muscles free of tension in a way they hadn't been for some time.

Next she registered the sensation of warmth enveloping her, the majority of the heat pressed to her back, and she slowly realized that another body was molded against her own, an arm thrown over her shoulder and a leg over her thigh, tangling her up with whoever was behind her. Her thoughts were unusually muddled and fuzzy, but when she shifted slightly, a dull pain between her legs brought everything back into sharp focus and the memories of last night flooded her mind.

She had made love to Shawn right here in this bed and it had been by far one of the most erotic, euphoric, amazing things she had ever experienced as he took her to the heights of pleasure. She was a virgin no longer because of his actions…because of her request.

She cracked her eyes open at last, finding Shawn had left the light on, and with the curtains shut the dim bulb was the only source of light in the room. The clock on the nightstand told her it was a little after seven in the morning but she somehow felt wide awake.

She heard Shawn mutter in his sleep behind her, his hand shifting to rest low on her abdomen, his breath blew softly on the back on her neck in a steady rhythm, betraying that he was still deep asleep.

She wriggled out of his grasp which was no easy feat considering how tangled up they'd become. Shawn continued on in unusually sound sleep, rolling on to his back with a sleepy grumble while Cassidy hovered above him.

His handsome features looked tranquil in sleep and his wild brown hair was even more disheveled. To Cassidy's slight annoyance, his unruly hair served to amp up his sex appeal rather than diminish it, which was quite unfair considering her long brown hair was probably an unsightly rat's nest after being drenched in the rain and then the already prominent tangles slept on, creating a horrific case of bed head.

Cassidy leaned over his sleeping form, bracing her hands on the bed as she leaned down and pressed her lips to his cheek, then his neck, and was rewarded with a soft murmur as his eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning," She smiled, shifting to climb atop him so she could kiss the skin just below his ear.

"Good morning," He rasped huskily, his large hands spreading across her bare back. “What time is it?” 

“A little after seven,” She said softly.

Shawn wanted to groan when he heard the time. He hated mornings and wondered how in the hell Cassidy could be perky so early in the morning. He wanted nothing more than to stay nestled in his warm sheets and slept the day away with his lover.

“Your mom called.” Shawn said.

Cassidy groaned and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Neither said anything for a moment and the silence stretched between them as Cassidy tried to delay the inevitable, but she knew she couldn't stay here forever.

"I should go," she said reluctantly.

"Are you sure?" he asked, pulling back once against to regard her face.

She kissed his lips gently before sitting up straight so she was no longer leaning forward over him. “Yeah,” She whispered. “I wish I didn’t have to, but duty calls. Senior registration is this afternoon and classes pick up next week, but I’ll stop by sometime tomorrow for sure.”

Shawn propped himself on his elbows and pressed a kiss to her forehead whispering the three little words that held such tremendous meaning, and when she whispered them back, his heart took flight, so filled with joy that it could not stay grounded.

"You should shower first. You look a little…ravaged."

His mouth quirked into a sexy smirk, apparently quite pleased that he had been the one to do the ravaging and Cassidy’s cheeks colored slightly.

"Yeah," she smiled. "But you could use one yourself."

"Alright," he said, removing his hands off her body so she could get up. "I'll shower when you're gone."

To his surprise, she stood and took his hand, pulling him gently.

"Why wait?" she smiled. "Save water and join me."

Her request was a little timid but she pulled him with enough force to urge him to stand. There was a twinkle in her brown eyes that betrayed the fact that saving water was the furthest thing from the teenager’s mind, especially when her eyes roamed his nude form appreciatively.

Before he could protest, she practically dragged him after her into the bathroom and he couldn't help but wonder if he had unintentionally created a sex-loving monster.

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy turned the doorknob to emerge into lengthy hallway. A glass chandelier illuminated the corridor with a soft glow, the light refracted through hundreds of crystalline prisms. Small cultivated trees, their trunks growing in braids and spirals, sat in beautifully carved pots on each side of the door.

Closing the door behind her, she quietly proceeded towards her bedroom upstairs, hoping to avoid confrontation with either of her parents, especially her father.

"Well, look who decided to come on home."

And speaking of her father…

David stood in the doorway of the kitchen, as if he’d been waiting for her arrival.

"You’re late," he remarked, tone disapproving. “And were sleeping over at your boyfriends house last night no less?”

"How could I possibly stay here after everything that happened last night?” She said. “I needed to think things over."

"I see," David said, clearly not believing her. It was almost like he assumed they had done the deed. His presumptions irritated the young woman.

"I don’t have time to get into this with you, I need to get ready." she said, not at all in the mood to chat with her father. “I have registration this afternoon.” David nodded but didn't go back inside the kitchen, his eyes following her until she went upstairs and was out of sight.

~ANTIQUITY~

Even after she left, Shawn’s head was full of nothing but Cassidy. His sheets still smelled like her and a long brown strand of hair lay across his pillow. He couldn't quite believe what had transpired but knew that what they had done hadn't satiated his lust for her but fueled it further. Even their steamy encounter in the shower hadn't quenched his thirst.

He hurriedly dressed in warm clothes and emerged into the cool morning air, noting that the clouds overhead guaranteed another dreary day.

He didn't really have a destination in mind and proceeded to wander until he found himself in front of a small café. He went inside without thinking, intending to grab the largest latte they had to offer while skimming through the Santa Clara Times for recent criminal activity around the area.

He was just about to leave when he caught sight of his two gambling ‘buddies’ he had a conflict with that night at the diner. He picked up his paper, pretending to be interested in a certain article as they made their way towards the back of the café and down the small hallway and rounded the corner.

Shawn sat the paper down and quickly stood from his seat, grabbing a standard employee work apron and cap hanging on the wall mounted coat rack and pursued quietly down the hall after the two men. He came to a stop when his ears picked up on a conversation taking place behind closed doors. 

It was clear that the man talking with the men was an employee in the cafe, but they were conversing in hushed tones. Shawn could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

“Apparently he’s screwing that hot little waitress you’re so infatuated with.” The man was saying. “You know the one that stabbed Chase here in the leg with a damn fork.”

“I can’t wait to get my hands on that little bitch,” Chase snorted. “I’m going to give her a piece of my mind the next time we meet.”

Cass

“Leave her out of this.” Another voice said. “I didn’t pay you to deal with her so you could have your revenge over a petty fork. I’m paying you to deal with that damn Spencer guy. He ruined my life. Everything I worked for gone because of what he did to me.”

I know that voice…Jason?

"What do you have in mind?" the other man said.

“I want you to make him disappear.”


	20. Taken

Shawn pressed himself against the wall, then peered out through the crack in the curtains. The maroon Blazer sat at the curb, exhaust fumes puffing out of its idling engine.

“They’re still there.” He whispered to himself.

Cassidy looked up from Shawn’s extensive DVD collection. “You say something?”

Shawn peered out at the SUV, then ducked behind the curtain at a sign of movement inside the car.

Cassidy sighed got to her feet.

“You know, you were so stoked about me coming over this evening, but instead you’ve been peering out of those curtains for the past fifteen minutes leaving the entire decision making up to moi.” She said, “What’s so fascinating outside that has grabbed your attention away from movie night, Shawn?”

“That’s great babe...” His voice trailed off as he continued to peek out the window. The SUV was still there. “Just choose something you’ll think we’ll both like.”

“Maybe I should just go.”

Cassidy grabbed her belongings and headed for the door.

“No!”

Cassidy stared at him, stunned. She was still standing by the door but she hadn’t taken another step. Not once in their relationship had he yelled at her.

Shawn inwardly slapped himself for suddenly yelling at her. He feared for her safety. If she stepped foot out of the apartment there was no telling what would happen to her, especially since Chase was itching to get his hands on her. He couldn’t risk her leaving, not right now.

He knew he needed to get rid of them. The last thing he needed in his life was two thugs and a bounty on his head. He could call the cops and inform them of the dire situation, but couldn’t risk having another charge on his record for the illegal gambling he carried out, but calling the cops seemed like a wise decision than the other alternative…death.

“I mean no.” He spoke softly, putting a hand on her arm to stop her. “Don’t leave, just stay. Please?”

Something troubled Cassidy. Her eyes shifted to the window then back to Shawn. What was behind those curtains that made him so on edge?

She moved away from the door a little.

“What aren’t you telling me?” She asked. “The look on your face is telling me you’re hiding something. Tell me.”

Shawn laughed humorlessly. “What look? I’m not hiding anything, Cass.” He lied. “I promise.”

Cassidy stepped up to Shawn, a look of concern on her face, “What did you get yourself into this time?” She said. “Are you gambling again, if so, how much?”

Shawn sighed irritably.

“Would you get off my back about that? I’m not gambling, alright.” He said. “Geez, you’re just as pushy as my dad. Just drop it.”

Cassidy shook her head in disgust and was heading for the door.

“Wait, Cass.” Shawn said.

“Don’t bother, Shawn,” She said. “It’s apparent you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s bothering you.”

“I do trust you.”

“Then tell me!” She yelled. “Tell me what’s wrong!”

“I can’t!” Shawn yelled back. “It’s complicated, alright.”

Cassidy shook her head again in disappointment and opened the door. “I thought you were the only person I could trust. I gave you everything I could possibly offer and all I expected in return was for you to do the same.” She said. “Whenever you decide to stop keeping secrets from me give me a call, until then we’re through.”

As the door closed behind Cassidy, Shawn collapsed onto his sofa and stared blankly at the door, trying to soak up what had just happened. She left him, broke up with him because he couldn’t bear to see the look of fear on her face when he broke the news to her. For once in a long time he was alone, again.

There was no one he could talk to, to laugh with, to watch movies with, nothing. There was no Gus, no father he could talk to because of his childish antics. And now he had just pushed the love of his life right out the door, the one who had given her heart, mind, body and soul.

Shawn grabbed the glass of water off the coffee table and threw it towards the apartment door, shattering it into pieces.

“Shit!”

~ANTIQUITY~

The gloved hand reached for the car door handle once he caught sight of the teenager leaving the apartment complex, but was halted when an arm reached out stopping him from opening the door.

“You heard what he said,” The man growled. “He didn’t pay us to dispose of that brat. Besides, I think it’ll hurt her more when she finds out he’s dead, washed up on the Santa Clara beach.”

The two watched as Cassidy got into the car and sped off.

“It’s time.”

 

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy lay in bed, eyes red-rimmed by the need for sleep, yet all she could do was stare at the ceiling fan spinning as her mind replayed again and again what happened earlier that night.

She loved Shawn, but why couldn’t he trust her with his problems? Cassidy pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and groaned softly, mentally and physically exhausted but still wide awake.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Guess you decided to change your mind.

Cassidy pulled out her phone from her nightstand drawer and flipped it open only to realize it wasn’t Shawn calling her in the middle of the night but Becca.

She pressed ignore and tossed it back into her drawer only for it to ring once more.

“Oh, for Christ sake,” She said, then jabbed the button to accept the call. “What do you want, Becca? Now is not a good time.”

“I need to talk to you.” She whispered urgently. “I’m outside your house.”

“Like I said, it’s not a good time.” Cassidy said. “I’m hanging up now.”

“It’s Shawn.”

Cassidy immediately sat up and threw her leg over the edge of the bed. “What about him?” She said, moving the phone to her other ear.

“I think he’s in danger.” She said. “Can you let me in?”

~ANTIQUITY~

Upon opening her window, her annoyance at having no sleep vanished.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” She asked, allowing her to step inside her bedroom so she could close the window behind her.

“You might want to sit down.” Becca said.

“I’d prefer to stand, Rebecca.” She growled. “So stop rattling on and get on with it.”

“You’re still mad.” She whispered sadly. “You’re still calling me, Rebecca.”

Cassidy sighed impatiently. “I could give a rat’s ass about what happened between us right now.” She said. “You said Shawn’s in danger, now spit it out.”

“Okay, okay, fine.” She said. “But you have to promise me you’re not going to freak?”

“Becca!”

“Alright,” She said. “Jason came to me a while back, said something about getting even with, Shawn. That night at the party, the night you were drugged, Shawn really beat the crap out of, Jason.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cassidy said. “I know all that already. Where is this going?”

“You know Jason had that scholarship for that NCAA crap. Well Shawn pretty much took that away from him. He can’t play football anymore. He didn’t just break his arm that night; he messed up his shoulder as well. He’s done.” She said. “Anyway, he spiraled into depression and said he’s going to get even with him. He somehow managed to track down those two thugs at the diner where you and Shawn met. He hired those two to kill Shawn.”

The blood drained from Cassidy’s face as she took a seat beside Becca. “Why didn’t you go to the authorities?”

Becca laughed humorlessly. “Are you kidding?” She said. “Jason would kill me if I told you anything. I’ve been waiting for a while to catch you alone. He’s been watching my every move. He’s gone crazy.”

Cassidy reached into her drawer and quickly dialed Shawn’s number. “I have to call him,” She said. “I have to warn him.”

Becca watched as her best friend’s ashen face as she listened to Shawn’s voice on the outgoing message.

“Cassidy, I’m so sorry.”

Cassidy shook her head tightly as she stood from her bed then quickly walked over to her closet and opened the double doors to her closet, dragging out a black trunk.

“Um, what do you think you’re doing?” Becca said curiously.

“There’s still time.” Cassidy said. “I can’t just sit by and do nothing. I have to help him.”

Becca stood up. “You’re insane!” She shrieked. “Maybe you should follow your advice and call the cops. That’s their job. If you go out there now you’ll be a sitting duck and will just get yourself killed. Is that what you want? Do you really want to put your parents through all that?” 

Cassidy shook her head violently and gently placed down a pair of black Decker pants, black T-shirt and a black hoodie, while she stripped out of her clothing. “I can’t risk calling the cops right now, Becca.” She said. “If I do that there’s a good chance it’ll turn ugly. They’ll kill him as soon as the police show up. I can infiltrate quietly and get him out before anyone even notices.”

“And how do you expect to do that!?” She said. “You don’t even know where he’s at.”

Cassidy threw on her black hoodie and grabbed the large duffle back out of the trunk and draped it over her shoulder. “Simple,” She said. “I go face to face to the person who placed the bounty on him personally. But first there’s something I have to do.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy kept her foot jammed down on the gas, blasting though stop signs and red lights. She had to be sure. Maybe he was home. Maybe he didn’t answer her call because of the argument and was just sitting comfy on his couch watching TV.

In the passenger seat, Becca dialed and redialed Shawn’s number, but every call went direct to voice mail. Cassidy jammed the gas pedal even harder. She could see Shawn’s apartment straight ahead. Five more seconds and they were out front.

“Stay here,” Cassidy instructed.

“No way,” Becca said. “I’m going with you.”

Cassidy didn’t have time to argue and just nodded to get her off her back. Cassidy and Becca leapt out, tearing up the hallway to his apartment door.

As Cassidy’s hand touched the knob the door opened slightly.

Please, please just tell me you left the door open on accident. Please be here, please be okay.

Cassidy lifted her right pants leg, pulling out an ART. FX-G2B, a standard military tactical knife and got into defense position.

“Whoa, what are you planning to do with that?” Becca whispered.

“Quiet,” Cassidy shushed. “Stay close and be on alert. There’s no telling if the intruders are still here.”

“So what, you’re going to slaughter them like pigs?”

Cassidy sighed irritably.

“Becca, will you please shut up.” She hissed. “I’m not going to kill anyone, alright. The most I’ll do is just maim them out of pure mercy.”

Cassidy quietly pushed the door open and cautiously stepped through the threshold, but stopped when she heart a crunch under her boot. Her worst nightmare came true.

“Blood,” She whispered, crouching down and picked up a bloody piece of broken glass.

“Do you think its Shawn’s?” Becca, said wearily.

Cassidy nodded. “Possibly,” She said, glancing around the room. “There are signs of a struggle. From the looks of it he fought a good fight. As they were leaving they shoved him causing him to fall towards the broken glass, hence all the blood on the floor. Good news is that the amount of blood on the floor isn’t very much. Most likely he cut his hands trying to slow his fall.”

“Cassidy, there’s no telling-“

Cassidy stood up and glared at Becca. “Don’t you dare say it,” She said. “He’s fine, I’m sure of it. He won’t be for long with that mouth of his. He’s probably driving them crazy as we speak.”

“So what’re we going to do?”

“We’re going to pay Jason a little visit.” Cassidy said. “I’ll get the information out of him one way or the other.”

~ANTIQUITY~

 

“Stay here,” Cassidy instructed once again as she opened the driver’s door.

“I’m coming with you.” Becca protested.

“Not this time,” Cassidy said, slipping on a pair of tactical gloves. “If he sees you here with me he’ll surely know you’ve been talking to me. You’ll just be in my way, stay here where it’s safe.”

“What about you?” She said.

Cassidy scoffed. “Really, Becca?” She said. “How long have you known me? I think I can manage handling one jock all by myself.”

“Your arrogance will get you killed someday you know.” Becca said.

Cassidy shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.” She said. “But not today.”

Cassidy shut the car door and jogged up to Jason’s house. From what she could tell the house didn’t seem occupied at the moment. If she still remembered correctly Jason would be home in a few from the gym, giving her enough time to beat the information out of him until his parents returned home.

She crouched down in front of the front door and reached into her back pocket pulling out a lock pick set. First, she slipped her tension wrench into the bottom of the keyhole and used gentle pressure in the direction she wanted to turn the lock. Then, she took her rake and quickly slid it back and forth to jostle the pins into place.

After raking back and forth through the lock, she quickly jerked the rake out of the keyhole while attempting to turn the tension wrench until the lock clicked open.

Thank you, dad!

Cassidy slid her pick kit back into her pocket and stepped inside. Once in, she pulled a small black flashlight and turned it on, quietly shutting the front door before locking it and proceeded upstairs to Jason’s room where she would wait for his return.

Cassidy let out a heavy sigh as she lay on Jason’s bed tossing the football up towards the ceiling and catching it as it fell back down. As she was about to toss it up once more she heard the door from downstairs open, followed my heavy footsteps heading in her direction. 

You’re right on time.

She quickly placed the football back in its rightful place and hid behind his bedroom door. Once he stepped foot into his room Cassidy thought this would be the perfect opportunity to catch him off guard. Before Jason had a chance to flip on the light switch she pulled out her ka’ane from her hoodie pocket and threw it around Jason’s neck choking him.

“Hello, Jason.” Cassidy growled, kicking the bedroom door shut. “Miss me?”

Jason’s hands desperately tried to grasp the cord that was tightly wrapped around his neck as he gasped for air.

“The more you struggle the more I’m going to tighten it,” She said. “So calm your ass down and we’re going to have a little chat, okay?”

“What do you want?” Jason gasped.

“I think you know why I’m here,” She hissed in his ear.

“If you don’t let me go I’m going call the cops!”

“Call them,” She said. “Explain to them how you placed a bounty on my boyfriend’s head you son of a bitch.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jason stammered.

Cassidy pulled the cord down towards the floor, knocking Jason onto his back. She pulled out her knife and placed it at his throat. “Liar, you know exactly what I’m talking about!” She cried. “Tell me where he is. If not my knife here can be very persuasive.”

“I don’t know!” He yelled.

Cassidy placed the tip of the blade into Jason’s shoulder and twisted it causing a pained cry to escape Jason’s lips. ”I’m starting to get angry, Jason.” She said. “And when I get angry I get crazy. So spill it, where did those two take him?”

“I said I don’t know!” He cried.

Cassidy sighed impatiently. “I really didn’t want to do this, Jason.” She said. “But you leave me no choice.”

“W-What are you going to do?” He stammered.

Cassidy smirked and held her knife up to the moon light shining through the window, admiring its beauty. “Did you know at the age of five my father placed this exact knife in my hand?” She said. “I remember as if it was yesterday. Human beings are so fragile. It only takes a cut in the right spot and you’ll bleed out in a matter of seconds. It’s very interesting really.”

“Alright. Alright.” He said. “I’ll tell you! You’re fucking crazy you know that!?”

“You don’t know the half of it.” She said. “Now tell me, where’s Shawn being held?”

“It’s an old warehouse. It’s been abandoned for years.” He said. “It’s the perfect spot.”

“The perfect spot,” She said. “Are you talking about the one we used to go play at when we were children?”

Jason nodded. “Yes, yes.” He said. “Now will you please get off of me?”

“You better pray you’re not wrong about this.” Cassidy said, slapping his right cheek before she stood up and headed towards the door. “Because if you are I’ll be sure to come back and finish the job.”

Jason groaned and got onto his knees, clutching his shoulder. “Hey,” He said. “The next time you see Becca tell her she better watch her back.”

Cassidy closed her eyes and breathed out an irritated sigh before she turned around towards Jason. She took a few steps forward and raised her fist bringing it down to his face. “You stay away from her.” Cassidy warned. “When this is all through I’m going straight to the authorities and turning you in. It’s a shame. We were such good friends at one time. It breaks my heart to know what you’re parents are going to think when they hear the news.”

Cassidy turned and quickly headed out of the room, leaving Jason alone. He reached into his pocket pulling out his cell phone and punched a button. It rang a few times until the person on the other side picked up. “Today’s your lucky day.”


	21. Dilemma Part 1

Cassidy and Becca stared in disbelief at the amount of security roaming around the warehouse, but what really caught Cassidy’s interest was what they were guarding.

“Whoa,” Cassidy said excitedly. “They plan on smuggling firearms and narcotics out of the country.” 

Becca pushed herself up on her knees, ready to crawl back around to the car. Cassidy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back down. A circle of light, the beam from the flashlight, hit the hill, then swept across its surface. A gruff voice shouted from inside. “Hurry up you morons, we don’t have all night!”

“This is too big, even for you.” Becca whispered. “There’s no way they’re just going to let you just waltz in on there and let you walk out alive. We need to call the cops.”

Cassidy got on her knees and pulled out a card from her back pocket. “Good idea,” She said, then handed Becca the card. “I saw a pay phone about ten miles back before the turn off here. Call this number and ask for Agent Miller. Don’t give him your name just inform him of what’s going down and meet me back here in this exact spot.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Becca asked skeptically.

Cassidy shook her head. “No,” She said. “I know the layout of this warehouse like the back of my hand. If anyone has a chance getting him out alive it’s me. I’ll be in and out before you know it.”

Becca grabbed Cassidy’s arm. “You can’t go in there, I won’t let you.” She said. “I know I’ve destroyed our friendship, but to me you’re still my best friend and I’ll be damned if I let you go out there alone. Is his life that valuable that you’re willing to put your own at stake?”

Cassidy tore her arm from Becca’s clutch. “I know you’re worried, but if I don’t go in there right now he’ll die and I’ll never be able to forgive myself when I know damn well I could’ve prevented it.” She said. “This is what my father spent all of his time preparing me for and I finally get to put it to use. So do what I told you to do, call Agent Miller and inform him of the situation and meet me back here as soon as you can.”

“Cassidy-“

Cassidy gave her a reassuring smile. “Go, I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Becca nodded her head wearily, afraid this would be the last time she saw her best friend alive. “Just be careful,” She said. “I’ll be here when you get out.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy ducked behind the large oak tree as the guard slowly passed by. The small window two stories above her was big enough for her small frame to fit through and the stacked crates would give her the boost she needed to sneak in. From there she could take the aluminum walkway down to the first level where she figured Shawn was being held, except one obstacle stood in her way.

She counted a total of two men guarding the east side of the building, both wearing camouflage, army boots, black balaclavas and all holding automatic rifles. She needed to get them alone and take them down one by one.

Cassidy scrambled around in the leaves and came up with a small, twig. She lobbed the twig towards the guard. It flew just behind his head and thumped into a tree. The guard whirled around, leveling his gun at the source of the sound. The other guard signaled him to check out the noise.

Cassidy smirked. Her plan was going just as she had hoped for. The man tore through the bushes looking for the source of the noise. Seizing the perfect opportunity to catch him off guard, she quietly approached her target from behind. Taking her dominant arm she wrapped it around the neck of her opponent, her bicep pressed against one side of his neck and her forearm pressed against the other side she applied pressure to both sides of the neck by squeezing her forearm and bicep together.

She grabbed the bicep of her free arm with her dominant hand, using her other hand to press the opponent's head forward toward the elbow of her dominant arm, keeping him from being able to breathe.

Immediately she relaxed her hold when her opponent went limp, but did not unlock her arms. She relaxed her hold enough to allow him to breathe again and placed his unconscious form down on the ground quietly. 

One down, one to go!

A few minutes passed and the last remaining guard started to become suspicious when his partner had yet to return. Following the same path as his partner, Cassidy patiently waited for him to drop his guard. The man crouched down to his partner and took his wrist and felt for a pulse.

As Cassidy stepped around the tree a twig under her foot snapped giving away her position. A shocked gasp escaped her lips. The man quickly stood and turned, leveling his rifle at her then squeezed the trigger.

Cassidy dived to the ground as a rain of bullets tore holes in the oak trees. As he loaded another magazine into the rifle she jumped to her feet. Making a peace sign with her fingers and brought them together so they were touching each other and aimed towards the man’s throat, causing his pharynx to cave in, preventing the offender from breathing.

The man collapsed onto his knees trying to regain his breath, Cassidy clenched her fist and punched him in his right temple next to his eye, knocking him out cold.

“Asshole,” She muttered.

Needing to make haste before the other guards arrived from the several gunshots fired, Cassidy turned towards the large crates but winced when a pain shot through her right side.

She pressed a hand to the source of the pain but pulled it away once she felt something wet seeping through her clothes. She brought her hand up to her face to examine the wet substance. Blood trickled down her gloved hand and realized she’d just been shot.

“Shit,” She hissed. With shaky hands she lifted her hoodie to inspect the severity of the wound. To her luck, the bullet didn’t inflict any major damage but managed to graze her. 

Gritting her teeth, she fought through the pain and pulled herself up to the first crate, then the next and so forth.

I’m coming, Shawn! Just hold on!


	22. Dilemma Part 2

The east side window lit up with blinding flashes of light, and the air was filled with gunfire.

Shawn’s head snapped up. “What’s happening?”

Chase smirked and stood from his chair. “Guess your little girlfriend decided to show up after all,” He said.

Shawn could feel his pulse immediately quicken. “What?”

She was here, somewhere in this building, and judging by the smirk on his lips and him constantly popping his knuckles, he was eager to get his filthy hands on her. But the question that repeatedly raced through his mind was how in the world did she know he was being held here?

“Man, you hurt her and I swear I’ll make you pay,” Shawn threatened. “You touch one hair on her head-“

He thrust his gun into Shawn’s face and screamed at him, “You’ll do what, huh? You’re tied to a chair. You’re no threat to me. I’m going to let you watch while I kill her first and then I’m going to kill you.”

Chase lifted his gun and hit Shawn in the head with the butt of his gun. He cried out in pain as Chase laughed darkly.

Shawn pulled against the ropes that bound his hands behind his chair. He’d seen so many movies in which the hero was able to stretch them just enough to slip his hands through. But all that was happening to Shawn was that the rough rope was scraping the flesh off his bones.

“I’m serious about what I said.” Shawn said, pained. “You hurt her and you’ll be sorry.”

Chase scoffed. “We’ll see about that,”

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy pressed herself against the wall of the dark hall and peered around the corner to the large lit room. She breathed out a heavy sigh in relief. He was there and despite a few cuts and bruises, Shawn was alive.

I found you.

As she pulled out her ka’ane to take down the man while his back was to her, long fingers grabbed her ponytail and forced her head back, while pressing a pistol to her back causing a pained gasp to escape her lips.

“Drop it,” The threatening voice said. Cassidy did as she was instructed and dropped the weapon onto the floor. “Good girl.”

His grip on her hair tightened as he shoved her roughly towards the room where Shawn was being held captive.

Shawn straightened up in his chair. “Cass!”

Cassidy gave Shawn an apologetic look.

“Look who I found coming to save the day,” The man said

Chase chuckled darkly and picked up chair and slammed it down next to Shawn. “Thanks, Zeke.” He said. “I’ve been expecting her.”

Zeke dragged her towards the chair and plopped her down in it. “Sit down you little twit,” He growled, then grabbed the rope Chase tossed to him and bounded her arms behind the chair and removed the blade that was hidden beneath her pants leg.

“Hey!” Cassidy shouted. “That’s mine!”

He stood up and pointed his right index finger at her. “Shut up!” He yelled and turned to Chase. “A word, now!”

Shawn and Cassidy watched as their captors left the room before they decided to speak to one another. Shawn decided to go first.

“Are you crazy?” Shawn said. “What are you doing here, how did you even know where I was?”

Cassidy gave him a faint smile. “Becca,” She replied. “After I left your apartment, she called and needed to talk. She explained how Jason was behind this whole ordeal. You didn’t pick up and I got worried. I stopped by your place and it was trashed. There was blood and I knew there wasn’t going to be much time before they decided to kill you so I went by Jason’s and I got the information out of him.”

“You shouldn’t have come, Cass.” He said. “Now that you’re here, they’re going to kill you as well. You should have just stayed home.”

Cassidy eyes started to well with tears. “And what, I just sit by and let them kill you?” She said skeptically. “That is not your decision to make. We’re in this together whether you like it or not. I would do this again in a heartbeat because I love you. Why you couldn’t come to me and tell me to begin with is beyond me, but now I realize it’s because you didn’t want me to worry. I’m a big girl, Shawn. I could have handled it.”

“I just didn’t want you to worry,” He said. “I didn’t want you to get dragged into my mess again and get yourself hurt.”

“Like I said, that’s not your decision to make.” She said. “We’re a team you and I.”

Shawn nodded. “Sorry,” He said. “Just know that whatever happens I love you.”

Cassidy shook her head. “Don’t say it, not like that.” She said. “You tell me you love me when we get ourselves out of this crappy situation.”

Shawn shifted his eyes to the blood dripping from her jacket down onto the floor. “Cass,” He said worriedly. “We’re you shot!?”

Cassidy met Shawn’s gaze and smiled. “It’s just a graze, hurts like a son of a bitch but nothing to be too concerned over with.” She said with a light chuckle. “Guess I’m not invincible after all, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” Shawn said. “I should have gone to the cops as soon as I found out, because of me your hurt.”

“I’m fine, Shawn.” She reassured. “But if we don’t come up with a plan soon, we’re going to die. We just need to stall a while longer.”

Shawn gave her a puzzled look. “Why do we need to stall?”

“Because I had Becca call for back up.” She said. “I’m sure you noticed all the illegal work that’s going on inside this warehouse, I just happen to carry a little card in my pocket at all times in case I run into any problems.”

Shawn smiled. “Nice,”

“You’ve done nothing but cause trouble for me and my men.” Zeke said to Cassidy as he and Chase stepped back into the room. “Who else is here with you? Because I find it highly unlikely that a mere girl such as yourself could have taken out half of my men in a matter of minutes.”

“Well sorry to rain on your parade,” Cassidy said. “But this is just the tip of the iceberg. What you and your men are doing here is highly illegal.”

Zeke glared down at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about little girl.”

Cassidy scoffed. “Really?” She said, amused. “So you’re telling me those crates you’re loading into those trucks just outside this warehouse are not full of heroin and automatic weaponry? How stupid do you think I am?”

Zeke pressed the tip of her blade against her cheek drawing a little blood. “Who else is here with you?”

Cassidy smirked. “It’s just me…for now.”

Zeke and Chase exchanged a look then turned back to the young woman.

Zeke growled and placed his hand over her right side and squeezed the wound causing a small grunt to escape her lips. “If that’s the case who are you expecting to show up?”

Cassidy said nothing and the Zeke squeezed the wound harder, causing more blood to hit the floor.

“I have all night, sweetheart.” He said. “So why don’t you be a good girl and save yourself all this pain and tell me who the hell is coming.”

Cassidy shook her head. “Now why would I do that,” She said through clenched teeth.

Zeke lifted his hand and slapped her across the face.

“Hey!” Shawn shouted.

“You shut up!” Zeke shouted, pointing an angry finger at Shawn.

Cassidy began to chuckle.

Zeke grabbed her pony-tail once again and pulled her head back to meet his gaze. “What’s so f**king funny?”

Her chuckle turned into a laugh. “Is that all you got?” She said. “My 60 year old grandmother can hit harder than that.”

Zeke grew enraged. He slapped her yet again but that had little to no effect. It didn’t budge her in the slightest bit. He then balled his right hand into a fist and punched her. The pain she felt was indescribable. The whole left side of her face throbbed as a result of the blow.

“Cut it out!” Shawn shouted again. “If you want to hurt someone, hurt me!”

He took a hold of the back of her head by her hair and yanked her face to where she looked directly up at him. He connected eyes with her and she grew more and more fearful by the minute. His eyes themselves had a demonic sense to them. He was so evil. It was as if he were the product of Satan.

Cassidy was petrified, but didn’t dare to show it. She knew if she showed her fear it would give the men the upper advantage. She didn’t want that, giving them power would just satisfy them. She shifted her eyes to Chase and smiled.

“By the way,” She said. “How’s that leg of yours doing?”

Chase smiled wickedly down at Cassidy and grabbed the blade out of Zeke’s hand and thrusted it down into her right thigh causing her to scream in agony. 

“Cassidy!” Shawn cried, then turned to Chase. “Stop it!”

Chase ignored Shawn. “How do you think it feels you little shit.” He spat. He removed the blade, causing blood to gush from the severe wound and tossed the blade on the table in the room. She then started to cry. Chase laughed at her expense and decided to taunt her. "Aw, is the poor little girl not as tough as she thought?”

She remained silent and continued to cry as she watched the blood seep from the wound.

"Now, you’re going to tell me who’s coming here." Zeke commanded for the umpteenth time.

"No!" She yelled through gritted teeth.

He then proceeded to back hand her, her hair whipping around to where it hit her in the face. Zeke then took a hold of her by her jaw, tightening his grip on her. She looked into his soulless eyes and went completely still and silent.

"You won't talk; fine. Just know you will pay for your…lack of compliance." He said, smirking.

"I’d pay either way." She stated.

"See, your learning." He said, waving his index finger at her.

The both were vindictive son of a bitches and twisted maniacal pieces of work. Cassidy then wondered what kind of people could birth to such men. She instantly stopped thinking about that when Chase punched her in the face. Zeke then grabbed the spare chair and turned it round and straddled it, his hands clutching the back.

"You are going to make this hard for me, aren't you?" He asked.

“Cass, just tell him.” Shawn said, solemnly.

"I’m not talking." She said in a defiant manner. “There’s nothing you can do that will convince me otherwise.”

"Oh, I think that your opinion on that will waver somewhat when I am done with your worthless ass." He said.

"If I am so worthless than kill me already!" She refuted.

"Well, the information you have is not so worthless." He told her.

He leaned forward and caressed her swollen cheek. She jerked away, unable to get out of his reach.

“Get away from her!” Shawn hissed.

Zeke ignored Shawn as he continued to caress her bruises, a look of admiration on his face.

"Tell me what you know, now!" He demanded.

"No." She said.

Her voice was solid, emotionless, and like stone. She looked directly into his almost black eyes and denied him his information. He didn't get angry at first. He simply stood from his chair and started to laugh.

“I have a better idea,” He said.

Cassidy grew worried and confused by his actions. She wondered what he was going to do. She gulped as fear overcame her. Her breathing became heavy and her chest rose and fell more rapidly. Then, Zeke turned toward Shawn and raised his gun. Her eyes went wide at the sight. Zeke and Chase watched as her head started the shake rapidly and struggled frantically against her ropes.

“No,” She pleaded repeatedly. “Please, don’t!”

“You have ten seconds to tell me who the hell I’m expecting here at my warehouse,” He threatened. “If you do not within that period of time, I will kill him and then I will kill you. One. Two.”

“Cass, it’s fine.” Shawn spoke softly. “Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Zeke continued counting down.

“Six. Seven.”

“Okay,” Cassidy said.

“Eight. Nine.”

“The DEA!” Cassidy shouted. “It’s the DEA!”

Zeke glanced at Cassidy and smirked. “Ten,” He said. “Too late.”

“But I told you,” Cassidy said. “I told you who within the ten seconds.”

“Did I say ten?” the leader growled. “Sorry, I’m dyslexic. What I meant to say was five.”

Cassidy squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the gun shot that would end Shawn’s life, grateful at least that she wouldn’t be able to see it. But instead of a gunshot, she heard several voices shouting outside followed by a burst of gunfire.

Outside, the air was filled again with another burst of automatic gunfire, and now in the silences between they could hear male voices barking orders.

“Drop the weapon!” one of the voices yelled through the warehouse. “Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head!”

“Shit!” Zeke hissed, lowering his weapon. “Chase, let’s hurry this up. We’ve wasted too much time already. Finish them off and meet me back at the truck.”

Chase nodded and Zeke darted out of the room.

Cassidy had to by her and Shawn enough time for the DEA to find where they were being held captive. She just had to ignore the searing pain running throughout her entire body and fight with what strength she had left. Chase pulled out his gun and pressed it to her forehead.

Before Chase could manage to squeeze the trigger, Cassidy lifted her legs and placed both feet on his abdomen and shoved him away from her with as much strength as she could muster causing him to fall back onto the ground, the gun sliding across the floor.

Cassidy’s chair tipped back, letting her fall onto the hard concrete as well. “Cass!” He wiggled furiously causing his chair to fall back. Shawn yelped in pain as landed hard on his right shoulder, dislocating it.

She had to act fast, but the pain in her leg and thigh were keeping her from doing so. She bit her lip and quickly rolled to her side and limped towards the table as Chase was getting up and used her leg to topple it over him. Limping to the nearest wall she rammed the back of the wooden chair hard against it several times before succeeding breaking it into pieces, but leaving her arms still tightly bound.

Chase was getting up again and she needed to keep him down. Grunting, she quickly limped over to him and kicked him repeatedly in the abdomen.

Chase grabbed her left leg and knocked her down to the ground, hitting her head on the hard cement almost knocking her unconscious and pulled her under him. His large hands clamped around her slender neck and began to choke her.

“Once I’m through with you, I’m going to kill that boyfriend of yours.” He growled.

Cassidy gasped for breath, but Chase was squeezing to tight. She struggled frantically to break his hold on her but she soon started to feel herself beginning to lose consciousness until she felt his grip releasing on her throat.

Cassidy rolled to her side and began to cough violently as air filled her lungs once again. Disoriented, she turned her head to the scuffle behind her.

“Get off of her,” Shawn growled, tightening the rope around Chase’s neck.

Chase eagerly reached for the gun lying beside him. Shawn released his grip on the rope and yanked the gun from his hand then slammed the metal against his face as hard as he could.

Shawn could hear Cassidy scream his name but he couldn’t look back, not until he was dead. Chase fell back against the wall and looked at Shawn with wide eyes. Shawn slid the slide catch on the gun and pulled out the pin. He pulled the slide from the lower receiver, dismantling the gun in a matter of seconds.

Shawn dropped all three pieces of his now useless gun into his lap. “She warned you the first time,” He said. “You should have taken it. You shouldn’t have come back for more!”

He grabbed the front of Chase’s shirt and dragged him to his feet, slamming him roughly against the wall. He could hear Cassidy crying behind him as he threw his knee into Chase’s side a couple times, making sure he did a good job on his ribs. “I warned you not to touch her!” Shawn growled, slamming him against the wall again, smiling as his head smashed hard against the wall.

Cassidy was crying. “Shawn, stop it!” She begged, sobbing hysterically. “I don’t want you getting in trouble over this. Please, Shawn, just let the police take care of it!”

Shawn gulped, he hated it when she begged for something, it broke his heart. They let them off last time because they assumed they would never see them again. If he let him go now, they would never be safe.

Just as he made up his mind, he felt her face press into his back. He looked over his shoulder to see Cassidy begging him with her eyes, she looked so hurt and broken, so scared and vulnerable that it almost killed him.

“Please, stop it already!” She begged, her beautiful tear filled eyes never leaving his. “I know what you’re feeling right now. I know what you’re thinking about doing. That anger…it’s unbearable, I know. But I’m begging you again, don’t. I need you. I need you so much, please.”

Shawn nodded and moved his hand around Chase’s throat and slammed him against the wall one last time and looked at him warningly. “Sometimes I hate being a decent person.” He growled and loosened his grip on Chase.

Shawn let out a deep sigh as Chase scurried out of the room before the DEA arrived, but they both knew Chase wouldn’t get very far and would be apprehended before he would even make it back to Zeke in time.

Cassidy felt the adrenaline starting to wear off as she felt another jolt of pain shoot through her leg. She slumped to the floor with the help of Shawn and gritted her teeth. “You’re losing a lot blood,” Shawn said, removing the bounds from her wrists.

“Take off your belt,” Cassidy instructed.

“Cass, I really don’t think this is a good time for us to start getting kinky.” Shawn said. “Any other day I’m up for it but right now we need to get you to a hospital.”

Cassidy threw her head back and groaned. “You’re hopeless!” She said. “I need it for a tourniquet you moron.”

“Well, why didn’t you just say that?” Shawn said, sliding the belt out through the loops of his jeans.

Shawn tore the sleeve of this shirt and applied it over the wound. He then placed the belt around her thigh at the site of the padding and tightened the belt to the point that there was enough pressure applied that the blood flow slowed.

Slowly, she could feel herself drifting off to sleep but would snap her eyes back open and tried talking to Shawn. “Your shoulder looks out of whack.” She said. “I think it’s dislocated.”

“I know. I fell on it trying to get to you.” Shawn said painfully. “The adrenaline is starting to wear off.”

“I’m getting sleepy,” She mumbled tiredly. “I don’t think that’s a good sign, Shawn.”

“I’m going to get help,” Shawn said. “Stay here.”

Just then, as Shawn was about to retrieve help, several DEA swarmed into the room and one she knew all too well. Miller’s gaze flickered as he saw Cassidy, but hardened as he turned to Shawn. 

Miller leveled his gun at Shawn. “Step away from her, now!” He barked at Shawn. “Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head.”

“Yeah, I think that’s going to be a problem.” Shawn said, inching closer to her while clutching his shoulder.

Miller fired a warning shot next to Shawn. “I said get down on the ground.” He said trough clenched teeth.

With a heavy sigh, Shawn complied and moved away from Cassidy and got on his knees. With a free hand, Miller pulled his cuffs off his belt and passed them to the Agent beside him. 

“You can’t take him in, he’s the victim!” Cassidy said.

“Technically we both were, she more than me.” Shawn pointed out.

“Shut up, Shawn. I’m trying not to get us arrested here.” Cassidy hissed, then looked at Miller. “I know this looks really, really bad but we can explain everything that just happened here. Please, just hear us out.”

Miller walked over to Shawn and Cassidy, holstering his weapon as he went. “Hicks, get him out of here. Get him to a hospital and get a statement. Ryan, get me a medic and gurney in here now. The rest of you know what to do, get to work.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hicks helped Shawn stand and led him towards the exit. Shawn looked over his shoulder to Cassidy who gave him a reassuring smile.

Miller reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’m going to call your parents and tell them to meet us down at the hospital.” He said.

“No!” Cassidy shouted, smacking the phone out of his hand. “At least not until after I get patched up. I still haven’t even figured out how I’m going to explain this to them.”

“Then explain!” Miller shouted. “Explain to me what you’re doing here, how you got dragged into this mess.”

Cassidy nodded.

“Do you remember the day we met and you thought I’d been assaulted?” She said. Miller nodded. “I was. He was one of my best friends growing up. I went to a party with my best friend and he drugged me. Shawn got there in time and got him off. But afterwards he beat some sense into Jason for what he did. I decided to let it go, but that was stupid of me. Jason placed a bounty on Shawn because of that night.”

Agent Miller pulled out a notepad and pen from his back pocket. “Does this Jason have a last name and an address?”

Cassidy nodded. “Garner,” She said. “Jason Garner, 1252 Monroe.”

“Got it, I’ll send someone down to pick him up.” He said. “But what I don’t understand is why you couldn’t come to the police about this. Do you realize how close you and your boyfriend were to being killed tonight?”

Cassidy sighed. “I did call, alright.” She said. “I had a friend do it for me before I infiltrated this dump. She was my anonymous tipster. Speaking of Becca, she was my getaway driver. Can you find her and let her know what’s happening.”

Miller nodded. “I’ll send someone,” He said. “I’m going with you to the hospital.”

After a moment, the paramedics came in and loaded Cassidy onto the gurney and wheeled her into the ambulance. Soon the paramedics began to prep her for an I.V. and smacked the needle out of his hand. “Don’t’ touch me with that thing!” She warned.

“Calm down, it’s just a needle.” Miller said. “You’re in pain and he’s giving you something to ease it up.”

Cassidy shook her head. “No needles,” She said. “I don’t do needles. If he even tries to put that in my vein I will pull it out and stab him in the jugular with it.”

Miller pulled the paramedic aside and whispered something in his ear causing him to give a sharp nod. “What did you tell him?” She said, curiously and watched the paramedic dig through his cabinet. “What’s he doing?”

Miller smirked and placed his hands on her shoulders to pin her down. “Relax,” He said. “I’m going to restrain you while he gives you a shot of morphine. It’ll help. I promise.”

Cassidy’s eyes widen as the paramedic inserted the large needle into the rubber top of the vial. “How the hell is that supposed to help me relax!” Cassidy shrieked. “Get off me!”

“Just focus on me.” He said. “Don’t look at needle.”

Cassidy shook her head fiercely. “I’m fine, really,” She reassured.”There’s no need for a shot. Tell him to put it away.”

“You’re going to feel a sharp pinch followed by a small sting,” The paramedic smiled. “You’ll be in lala land before you know it.”

A small squeak escaped her lips and not even a few seconds later she soon to began to relax. Miller released his hold on her and sat down on the bench seat. Chuckling, Cassidy turned her head towards Miller. ”I’m going to kill you.”

Miller patted her hand. “That’s just the morphine talking.” He said.

“Are you mad at me?” She mumbled.

Miller leaned forward and ran his hand through her hair. “I’m not mad,” He said. “Worried yes, but not mad. We’re going to have to talk and there are still my bosses I have deal with regarding what happened and why you were there.”

“Thank you,” She said, her words beginning to slur. “I’m glad it was you and not someone else who showed up.”

“Me too,”


	23. Aftermath

“Thank you, Mr. Spencer, looks like I got everything I need for now.” The Agent said as he placed the small notepad into his back pocket and turned towards the door. “If it turns out we need anything else from you we’ll give you a call.”

“Sounds great,” Shawn muttered.

After a moment a nurse joined by a doctor, who gave Shawn a quick once-over and approved his release. Shawn spent the next fifteen minutes filling out insurance paperwork and the following forty-five coaxing his fingers into bending sufficiently to button his shirt.

Shawn heard the sound of a door opening across the room.

“Shawn?” It was woman’s voice, Evelyn’s voice.

Evelyn shut the door quietly behind her and stalked toward him, her brown orbs never leaving Shawn’s face as she came. As she approached, see seemed to be contemplating about something hard.

“I guess it’d be hard to button yourself with those hands,” Evelyn said with a small smile. Indeed it was hard. His right arm was in a sling and just had fifteen total stitches placed in his hands.

“May I?” Evelyn said, pointed to his unbuttoned shirt.

“Sure,” Shawn replied meekly.

Evelyn used one hand to hold the side of the button using her thumb and index finger. Using her thumb and index finger on her other hand to hold the slit up she lined the button up to the slit so the two were just barely touching and pushed hard on the button’s side so it would push through the small slit. Letting her hand slip from the side of the button to the bottom she pushed the other part of the button through and repeated the process until his shirt was fully buttoned.

“There you go sweetie,” She said softly, releasing Shawn’s shirt and giving him a tiny smile.

“How’s, Cass?” Shawn said anxiously. “Is she going to be alright?”

“They just pulled her out of surgery and are moving her into a room as we speak.” Evelyn informed. “As for her condition, she was pretty banged up when she was brought in. She lost a lot of blood and they had to give her a blood transfusion. Luckily the blade missed her Femoral artery by a mere inch but they still had to repair some tissue damage. The anesthesia won’t wear off for a while so she won’t completely come to for another couple of hours.”

Shawn let out a deep breath in relief. “Oh, thank god.” He said. “Mrs. Reed I’m-“

Evelyn held up a hand to cut him off. “Shawn, the reason why I’m here is not only to tell you the status of my daughter but to tell you that David has persuaded me to consider the well-being of my daughter while you two are together.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I want you to stay away from my daughter.” She said quietly, her voice surprisingly soft and almost...wounded.

Shawn winced at her words, looking absolutely miserable. He moved to the bedside and sat on the edge. “What?”

“Cassidy put her life at risk because of you. Because of you she almost lost her life tonight.” She said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for what you’ve done for her, but the way I see it, if the two of yours relationship keeps continuing down this road my daughter might not live to see past the age of eighteen. Cassidy is so head over heels madly in love with you that if something like what just happened tonight ever occurred again she won’t hesitate to jump in if the situation called for it and she might not be so fortunate next time.”

For a moment, there was silence in the room, a stillness so dense that they could feel it pressing down on them with suffocating weight until at last Shawn spoke, the incredulous tone clearly audible in his voice.

"But…how could you…Evelyn…”

"I know," she replied. "I'm sorry."

Shawn couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Sorry?" He growled as his disbelief turned to hurt and anger. “What do you think could happen when your daughter leaves every morning and puts a badge on her chest and straps a gun to her hip? Everyday you’re going to wonder if she’s going to make it home alive.”

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that.” Evelyn said. “I want more time with my daughter, Shawn.”

“No…I won’t…just let her go. I need her in my life.”

“You need her?”

“Yes.”

“I understand that you love, Cassidy.” She said. “But why do you think you need her?”

“I just do.” Shawn said. “Whenever I’m around Cassidy she keeps me in line, without her I’m afraid I’ll revert back to my old self. She’s the only thing keeping me here in Santa Clara. My father thinks I’ve ruined my life. My best friend is angry at me. And I can’t even talk my own mother because I’m ashamed of the things I’ve done, I have no one but her.”

“Damn it, alright,” She said with a defeated sigh, shrugging her shoulders as if the whole thing was inconsequential after all. “However, David is not going to be pleased about this, not one bit. But you promise me something?”

“Anything, name it.”

“You promise me that you’ll keep my baby safe.” She said. “Cassidy might put on a brave face or act like a tragic event didn’t faze her, but deep down inside she gets scared like everyone else. She might think she can take on an entire army just by herself, but that’s doesn’t mean she’s invincible. She’s human. She can bleed, she can feel pain and she can die. I want her to love a long life.”

Shawn nodded in understanding. “I promise.” He assured.

Evelyn nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll see what I can do about David.” She said. “In the mean time I suggest you go home and get some rest. I’ll call you as soon as she wakes up.”

Shawn shook his head. “I’m staying,” He said. “I want to be here when she wakes.”

Evelyn sighed. “Suit yourself,” She said. “But I’d stay clear of David for a while. He’s angry now, I can’t imagine what he’ll be like when I’m through talking with him.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

~ANTIQUITY~

“Are you out of your damn mind, Cassidy?” David said angrily, voice rising loud enough to be heard by possible patients in adjacent rooms. “You almost had gotten yourself killed over that stupid stunt you pulled!”

Cassidy blinked owlishly awakening from her long nap. She felt groggy and disoriented but she attributed that to the absolutely incredible drugs that had her on. “Christ, dad.” Cassidy mumbled. “I just woke up and you’re already yelling at me.”

“Cut the attitude, Cassidy.” David growled, his voice low and primal. “I’m getting tired of it.”

Cassidy shifted her weight and winced at the acute pain in her right side and thigh. Walking would be difficult tomorrow that much was for sure.

“I made your mother cut down the morphine...a lot.” He said. “I thought I’d wake you up so we could talk.”

Asshole Cassidy thought.

“What do you expect me to say, dad?” Cassidy seethed, her anger steadily building. “That it was a stupid? That it won’t happen again? That I’m sorry?”

“Yes!” Evelyn cried.

Cassidy shook her head. “Well if that’s what the two you want to hear than you can forget it because I’m not going to apologize for something I thought was right.” She said. “Shawn was in danger and if I didn’t jump into help when I did he would’ve been killed.”

“You could’ve been killed, Cassidy!” Evelyn shouted. “Right now you’re not a cop! You’re a senior in High school! You’re still a child, a child for god sake!”

“A Child?” She said with a humorless laugh. “Since when have I ever been a child? When have I ever gotten the luxury of being a child?

"What are you talking about?" Evelyn said.

"Don't play dumb," She seethed, her voice growing acidic at the prospect of her trying to deny her accusations. “Ever since I can remember it’s been ‘Cassidy did you complete your homework? Did you train with Jack today? Did you find a part time job? What time are you leaving? What time will you be home? It’s always nag, nag, nag with you two.”

Evelyn’s mouth dropped open, closed and then opened again like she meant to say something but couldn't find the words.

“If you want to blame anyone, blame yourselves. You’re the one that let dad place that knife in my hands when I was five and taught me to aim for the major arteries in the human body. On my sixth birthday he placed a pistol in my hands and taught me how to do a head shot. At the age of seven he showed me how to snap a person’s neck in seconds. The list goes on, mother!” She said.

Evelyn could only stare wide eyed. Her cheeks would have been burning with shame if the blood hadn't already drained from her face and left her skin ashen and pallid.

"How dare you…”

“How dare I? How dare you!” Cassidy shot back, drawing on her anger, the emotion that had given her strength throughout most of her life. "Why couldn’t you just let me have a normal childhood like every other kid out there? All I ever asked for was a stupid princess cake and rainbow bright doll, was that so much to ask for? But no every year was the same, training, training and more training!” Cassidy then pointed an angry finger at her father. “It’s what you taught me to do, what you wanted me to do, what you expected me to do! You’re the one who taught me to follow my gut and to do what I believed what was right. And when the situation actually called for me to use that feeling, you’re telling me what I did was wrong, to go against what I was taught to believe in by you!?”

“Cassidy-“

David held up a hand to Evelyn, silencing her. “I need a minute with her…alone.” He said.

“David-“

“Now, Evelyn.” David snapped irritably.

With a heavy sigh, she walked out of the room and slammed the door.

“So?” Cassidy asked nervously. “Guess you’re here to give me a good ass kicking. Now would be a better time than any while I’m hooked up to the morphine.”

David merely frowned and pulled a chair to her bedside. “Your mother filled in on some surprising little events that occurred while I was away.” He said. “You know damn well partying isn’t allowed while you live under my roof, Cassidy Leanne. You deliberately disobey obeyed me and for what, for you to get drugged and nearly raped by some dumbass. I hope it was worth it because you wouldn’t be in this position you are in now if you just did what you were told to do. How could you have been so careless?”

Cassidy stiffened slightly.

“I slipped up, alright.” she ground out; annoyed that he was bringing her failure out into the open to use it against her.

“You damn straight you slipped up.” He growled. “If I ever find out you are partying again and while you’re still living under my roof I won’t be as lenient as your mother was. Is that understood?”

“Yes,”

“Yes what?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How did you get those bruises on your face?” He said.

Cassidy eyes suddenly shifted to the window at her bedside.

“I…um…”

She was still refusing to look at him.

"Cassidy," he said, his voice a low growl of impatience and anxiety.

She said nothing, eyes still fixed on the window.

"Cassidy. you—"

"I was stalling for time," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I refused to tell them the DEA would be arriving. He got angry and he…kept hitting me over and over.”

“What else?”

“The knife wound was caused by the guy named Chase.” She continued. “I was working late when Shawn and I first met. Those two stormed into the diner and started hitting him. I stepped in and Chase bent me over a table and…unbuttoned his pants and was going to rape me in front of Shawn. I grabbed a fork and I stabbed him in the thigh. I pissed him off when I brought the subject back up.”

“You should have killed him.” He said. “Or better, you could have made it to where he would never be able to use it again.”

"I know," she replied, at least lifting her eyes to meet his. "Zeke put a gun to Shawn’s head and began counting down. If I didn’t tell them who was coming, he was going to kill him. He got it…he got the information he wanted. I’m sorry.”

David gave her a disappointed sigh and stood up.

“You were weak,” He said. “You should’ve known better, Cassidy. You know damn well they would’ve killed him anyway.”

“I realize that!” Cassidy snapped. “But if there was even a remote chance I could’ve saved his life I had to try. I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing!”

“That’s not what I would’ve done, Cassidy!” He yelled.

“Well I’m not you!” Cassidy yelled back. “I’ll never be you!”

“You’re right,” He said. “You’ll never be like me.”

Cassidy chuckled lightly.

“Right, because all I ever do is disappoint you.” She said, then turned her head towards the window once again. “Just leave me alone. Just get out of here.”

He didn't say a word as he grabbed his hat and left the room. He emerged into the hallway and slammed the door behind him. Shawn and Evelyn turned to see David looming over them. His fists were clenched, and a vein in his temple throbbed.

“Hey, David,” Shawn said. “Good work in there.”

“Don’t ‘Hey David’ me boy,” He said. “This is your entire fault.”

Shawn placed his hands in his pockets and started towards Cassidy’s room. “You remind me a lot of my dad you know that,” Shawn said. “A piece of advice, stop trying to impose your will onto her. The only thing you’ll end up doing is pushing your daughter away.”

~ANTIQUITY~

A little over a week had passed since the incident at the warehouse. Fortunately, Zeke and Chase were apprehended before they could make it to their getaway vehicle and both were taken into Federal custody and awaiting trial.

As for Jason, well he was a different story. When DEA and other officials arrived at his residence, Jason grabbed his father’s pistol out of the gun safe and began to open fire once they entered the residence. Jason was shot and died on scene. His parents were devastated when officials explained what he had done.

Shawn and Cassidy kept in touch over the phone daily while she was sent home to heal. Shawn refused to mention the discussion he and her mother had at the hospital regarding him ending their relationship. And as far as Cassidy and Becca’s relationship went, the two are back on good terms. She fell indebted to her after everything that had happened and brought Cassidy’s homework over daily so she wouldn’t fall behind on her school work.

~ANTIQUITY~

“Sweetie, I’m heading out,” Evelyn said, peeping through the doorway. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”

Cassidy’s eyes never left her paper and shook her head as she scribbled down the final word to her rough draft of her English paper.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright here all by yourself tonight?” Evelyn asked, worriedly.

Cassidy wheeled to face her and looked at her in disbelief. “Seriously, what am I five?” She said. “Go, do your thing. I’m going to call it a night here in a bit anyway.”

“Alright,” She said. “Well your father is at Jack’s for poker night so he won’t be home till late. If you need anything just call.”

“Yup,”

As the door closed behind her mother, Cassidy settled back into her desk chair as her thoughts moved to Shawn.

A light tap on her window interrupted her thoughts.

Cassidy turned to the window and smiled. She quickly got up from her chair and opened the window. “Do you have a death wish or something, what are you doing here?” She said, allowing him to step inside her bedroom so she could close the window behind him. “What if my dad comes home and catches you in here?”

Shawn turned to her and pushed a few stray hairs away from her face. “Well it occurred to me that I’ve never snuck through your bedroom window.” He smiled. “And I can’t help but notice that you’ve cut your hair. It looks sexy especially with what you have on right now.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes. Of course he’d comment on her sleepwear consisting of short blue plaid shorts and a navy ribbed tank top. “Thanks,” She smiled. “I thought I could use a change for once. It was getting too long anyways.”

That was a lie. She despised having short hair. It didn’t suit her one bit. But ever since Zeke continuously grabbed for it that night she figured it be best to cut it where it barely grazed over her shoulders.

She wrapped her arms around Shawn’s neck and pulled him in for a long kiss. “You know, just before you got here I was thinking about you.” She mumbled through their kiss.

His mouth quirked into a sexy smirk. “Really,” He said amused as he wrapped his arms around her. “Were they dirty thoughts?”

Cassidy wiggled free from his grasp and turned the lock to the bedroom door.

“Maybe,” She giggled.


	24. Positive

"Cass," Shawn said gently. "Maybe it’s time you tell your mom about this. You’ve been puking your guts out all week.”

Cassidy didn't even look at him, continuing gazing into the water inside the porcelain bowl. She knew Shawn was right. She’d been sick the majority of the week and it wasn’t getting any better. Her enthusiastic, active and outgoing self was now replaced with constant fatigue, nausea, headaches and mood swings.

"For the hundredth time, Shawn, I’m fine," she said stubbornly. "I’ve probably caught that stupid bug that’s been going around lately. It’s just got to..."

Her sentence remained unfinished as she kneeled before the toilet bowl once again, retching and gagging.

Shawn placed a hand on her back as he asked if she was all right, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to shrug him off. "I’ll be good to go here in a few.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” The hazel eyed man said sternly. “You need to rest."

Cassidy tried to get to her feet and insist on continuing going to date night, but her knees buckled. Shawn caught her easily. "Cass," he chastised sternly. "You're too weak to even stand. There's no way in hell we’re going out if you’re this sick.”

Cassidy went to protest again but he hushed her with his fingers to her lips. “I almost lost you once," he said softly. "I'll be damned if I let you slip away again because you’re too damn stubborn to listen. Now, march into the bedroom and lay down.”

Her expression softened as he brushed tangled brown strands away from her face. Cassidy sighed, a small pout forming on her lips. She knew he meant well and she loved him for that, but she didn’t intend to spend their date night bed ridden.

“Fine,” She said, exasperation taking the place of the dread in her voice and Shawn chuckled at her annoyance. “But not until I brush this disgusting taste out of my mouth.”

Even though she didn't like it, Shawn carried Cassidy bridal style, stating that if she was too weak to stand, she certainly wouldn't be able to make it to their bedroom. She grumbled her protests, her pride objecting to having to be carried, but knowing there was no winning out against Shawn. He could be just as stubborn as herself when he wanted to be. And in all honesty, she rather liked the feel of his strong hands gripping her thighs to support her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in his scent and she found that it calmed her, gave her sense of security in a way she couldn't really explain.

Shawn sat on the bed next to Cassidy and hooked his thumbs in the side of the leggings she was wearing and pulled them down, slowly running his hands down her legs to take her feet out. He then slipped his hands under her top and unclasped her bra, tossing it onto the floor.

She wanted to shield herself from his eyes but knew he wouldn't allow it so she tried to calm her raging blush. Shawn chuckled softly and shook his head. “You’re so cute when I make you blush.” He said, his eyes looking straight into hers.

Cassidy’s blush flared at his words.

Shawn bent his head and kissed her lips lightly then pulled away, flashing his beautiful smile that always made her heart skip a beat. He unbuttoned his jeans, slipping them off and throwing them on the floor, then removed his T-shirt before climbing in the bed with her.

Cassidy pressed her body to his, loving the feel of him against her. “Go to sleep,” He whispered, kissing her forehead gently as he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace, holding her close even as their bodies remained joined. 

She pressed her face into his chest breathing him in. “I’m sorry,” She mumbled against his skin.

He pulled away to look down at her. She looked so small and frail despite the fact that she was quite a formidable young woman.

“I didn’t intend on ruining our night.”

Shawn chuckled.

“With all the vomiting you’ve been doing lately you had me scared you were pregnant,” He said. “That would suck.”

Cassidy burst out laughing. “Like that could ever happen,” She said. “Besides, I’m on birth control and haven’t missed…a cycle.”

Cassidy’s heart sunk…missed cycle?

Come to think of it when was the last time I had my period? She thought. I’m always four weeks on the dot. I’ve been so damn preoccupied lately it must’ve slipped my mind.

Cassidy could feel her pulse immediately quicken as she frantically tried to work it out in her head. If she calculated right she was late.

Everything I’ve been feeling this week….could it be that I’m…pregnant? Oh, god. Please no, please! What the hell am I going to do if I’m pregnant? I’m about to finish school this month, I’m supposed to start the academy. What about the job I was offered at the DEA? What’s Miller going to think…let alone what are my parents going to think!? What would they say!!!??? And Shawn….he just said it would suck if I was pregnant! What would he think!? What do I tell him? How could this have happen!? I never missed a pill, ever.

She could feel her whole future flushing down the toilet. What was she going to do? If she was pregnant, everything she’d worked so hard for would’ve been for nothing. She was seventeen for chrissake, she wasn’t ready to be a mother! She didn’t know the first thing about taking care of children. There was only one way to find out, she needed a pregnancy test. She needed to see, Becca.

He rested his chin on the top of her head, inhaling her sweet fragrance. “I love you,” He mumbled tiredly.

She pulled herself back to the present when she heard Shawn’s voice.

“I…love you too,” She whispered. 

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy reached Becca’s address, a small bungalow a block from the ocean. There were three shallow steps leading up to a small porch in front of the door. And on the porch sitting on a glider, was Becca.

Cassidy jumped out of the car and ran up to the house.

“I know you have some,” Cassidy said frantically. “Give me one!”

Becca gave Cassidy a puzzled looked. “I’m lost,” She said. “One of what?”

Cassidy placed her hands on Becca’s shoulders and shook her violently. “A pregnancy test!” She shrieked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Becca’s eyes widen. “Dude,” She said. “You’re pregnant!? I thought you were using protection!?”

Cassidy clamped a hand over her mouth. “Shh,” She hushed. “I’m not for sure, but I ran it through my head several times and I’m severely late! And I am using protection, I don’t know how this could’ve happened!?”

Becca grabbed Cassidy’s hand and pulled her inside the house. “Okay, okay, just calm down.” Becca said, closing the door behind her. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately with school, that smoking hot DEA Agent who’s been schooling you, your dad and not to mention fitting Shawn into your busy life. It probably just threw your cycle off.”

Cassidy frantically wiped at her eyes. “Becca, I’m scared.”

Becca led her upstairs towards her room. “Take a test…or two and find out for sure,” She said. “Though, it’s probably nothing.”

Cassidy’s cell phone was going crazy in her back pocket. She pulled it out to see Shawn’s number flashing on the screen. When she woke the following morning, she quickly got dressed and left the apartment without informing him she was leaving. She couldn’t talk to him, not right now. She rejected the call and turned it off shoving it back into her pocket roughly. 

Becca came back and handed her a bottle of water and pregnancy test kit containing two tests inside. Cassidy then ran to Becca’s bathroom and slammed the door.

Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely open the box and the packets. She did one test then downed the bottle of water before doing the other one almost immediately after. She placed the two tests on the sink and sat on the floor with her head in her hands, praying they would come out negative.

After three minutes she pushed herself up and turned the two tests over at the same time. Tears formed in her eyes and she clasped a hand over her mouth as she felt bile rise in the back of her throat.

“Well?” Becca said opening the door. “What’s it say?”

Cassidy suddenly rushed to the trashcan, kneeling before it, retching and gagging until her stomach was completely emptied of its contents.

Becca slowly walked over to the sink and gasped at the results.

The tears in Cassidy’s eyes finally fell. She welcomed the tears, putting her face in her hands and sobbing softly as the sheer helplessness of the situation overwhelmed her. She was…pregnant.

Becca pulled Cassidy into a comforting embrace, stoking her back soothingly.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Cassidy.” She reassured. “I promise.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Closing the door behind her, Cassidy moped toward the kitchen. Her parents were already seated at the table, a plate of meat loaf, mashed potatoes and peas in front of them. She found the smell in the kitchen, repulsive.

“Well, look who decided to come home after three days and join us for dinner.” David said with a growl, not bothering to avert his attention away from his book to even glance at her.

No words needed to be spoken as Evelyn studied her daughter’s outward behavior as she stood in ratty sweats looking freshly showered. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Something was wrong.

Evelyn quickly stood from her chair and ran to her daughter’s side. “Honey, what’s wrong?” She said worriedly causing David to finally lift his gaze from his book. “What happened?”

The teenager’s eyes suddenly dropped to the floor as she bit her lower lip. David had seen that particular behavior enough to know that she only did it when extremely nervous and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that warned that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"I…um…"

She was still refusing to look at her mother.

"Cassidy," he said, his voice a low growl of impatience and anxiety. "If you got something you need to say, say it. Stop standing there like a dumbass and just spit it out.”

She said nothing, eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Cassidy, sweetie—"

"I’m pregnant," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

David couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only had she been dating a nincompoop, he managed to defile his one and only child, his daughter. He had assumptions she was having sex, but couldn’t bring himself to accept it. 

"What!?" David growled as his disbelief turned to anger. "How could you…Cassidy, how could you have been so irresponsible, so stupid! Do you realize you just ruined your future!? I’ve spent years molding you into the perfect weapon, an asset, and for what, for you to lay on your back while he screwed you senseless!” 

“David!”

"I know," she replied, at least lifting her eyes to meet his furious pair. "I'm sorry."

“This was your chance to do something great, and now you have nothing. Nothing.”

She winced at his words, looking absolutely miserable. She was perfectly aware that the opportunity she was given at the DEA was probably a lost cause now, but that didn't make it any easier to listen to her father berate her.

“You’re a disgrace to this family, to me!” He yelled. “What are you going to do now, huh? You’re seventeen years old! Are you going to go back to wiping down tables again!? Hell, you might as well just stand at a street corner and make a living as a whore because that’s all you’re good for now.”

Cassidy wrapped her arms around herself as if they would protect her from her father’s painful words, but she couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She had let everyone down. Her father was furious with her, furious and disappointed, and that knowledge only compounded the pain gripping her chest.

Evelyn could see her daughter’s golden eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her body posture betrayed how dejected she felt, her heart ached for her. Everyone made mistakes, although it was uncharacteristic for Cassidy to make one so big, but yelling at her was solving nothing. Her dismal expression evaporated her anger and suddenly, all she wanted to do was hold her close and comfort her. Her situation was certainly bleak, but she had faced worse odds in her lifetime, and maybe if they put their heads together, they could figure this out.

“David, that’s enough!” Evelyn shouted. “You will not talk to her like that, especially in her condition! She was placed on birth control. She takes it daily and never misses a dose. It’s not always 100% effective. More than 40 out of 100 couples become pregnant while using it effectively. It happens. The only thing we can do right now is just support her as best we can. I’ll take her by the office and run some tests. But right now you need to calm down. So please, just leave before you do something you might regret later.”

Abruptly, David stood up, reached for his scotch glass and threw it against the wall, shattering the glass into hundreds of tiny fragments. “Fuck!”

Evelyn quickly pulled Cassidy behind her protectively as David stormed out of the room, noting that he didn’t even spare them a second glance as he left.

Cassidy sniffled softly, finally raising her head to look at her mother. “Everything’s going to be okay, Sweetheart.” Evelyn murmured, her voice brimming with sincerity as she wrapped her arms around her daughter in a comforting embrace. “We’ll figure this out.”

“I’m so scared, mom.” She cried. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Tears fell from her eyes, cutting wet trails down her cheeks and Evelyn was once again struck by that cursed feeling of helplessness as she held her without a clue as to what to do. All she could think of was to hold her close and let her cry, her tears soaking her blouse as she trembled in her arms.

“We’ll get through this…together.”

~ANTIQUITY~

“Well, you’re defiantly pregnant,” Evelyn said as she removed the transducer from Cassidy’s stomach and turned the screen around for her to see. “Judging from the amount of weeks that have passed since your normal menstrual period and from the baby’s measurements you look to be around six weeks, February 18th is the baby’s due date.”

The tears came unbidden, but she didn’t try to stop them, knowing her mother confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. She let them flow down her cheeks as silent sobs wracked her body.

“You have three options you and Shawn need to consider.” Evelyn said. “There’s abortion, adoption or the two of you could be parents to this life growing inside of you. The both of you need to sit down and discuss what you’re going to do and soon.”

She pulled her shirt down and slowly got off the exam table, wiping the remnants of her tears with the back of her hand, “You already know my thoughts on abortion, mom.” She said. “It has a heartbeat. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I went through with it.”

“Adoption?”

Cassidy shook her head. “What if the adoptive parents turned out to be rapists, abusers, or serial killers?” She said. “No adoption.”

“Well.” Evelyn said with a sigh. “That leaves you with one final option, parenting.”

Cassidy buried her face in her hands and sighed. “I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a baby, mom.” She said. “I have no maternal instincts whatsoever.”

“Well it’s not just going to go away, Cassidy.” Evelyn said. “There’s a little peanut growing inside of you as we speak. When he or she is born and you hold him or her for the first time you will know exactly what to do. Though I’m not too keen about becoming a grandmother at thirty-eight, Cassidy but if it’s what the two of you want I’ll support you both all the way. Yes, a child means you have to your plans on hold, but that doesn’t mean it’ll destroy your future. You can still do the things you want to do. It’s just going to take a little more time.”

Cassidy stood in front of the sink, grimacing at her tear-streaked reflection. She was a mess.

“What if…what if I decided not to mention the pregnancy to Shawn?” Cassidy said. “Do you think I could do it, by myself I mean?”

“You’re kidding right, Cassidy?” Evelyn said in disbelief. “He’s the father of that child, your child. He has a right to know.”

“I-I know…” She stammered, her tears once again flowing and choking on her speech as she was overwhelmed by the situation. “It’s just…I have a feeling he’s not going to be happy when he hears the news. I’m afraid once I tell him he’ll leave me alone with this child.”

Evelyn shook her head. “Sweetie, he loves you more than you know.” She said. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but that night you were admitted at the hospital I wanted him to end the relationship between the two of you.”

“You what…why…how-“

Evelyn held up a hand, silencing her before she could even finish the question. “That doesn’t matter now.” She said. “What I’m trying to tell you is that he fought tooth and nail to be with you. You’re everything to him, Cassidy. Give him a chance to prove himself. You might just be surprised at what you hear.”

Cassidy hung her head in defeat. “Fine,” She said. “But answer this. Do you think I have what it takes to be a good mom?”

Evelyn smiled. “I think you have everything it takes to be a great mother.” She said. “And the answer to your first question, yes. You’re strong and always have been independent. I know for a fact you can do this on your own, but it’s not something I would recommend doing by all yourself.”

Cassidy sighed and lifted her head, glancing at her reflection once more. Her decision had been made. She was keeping this child. Her mother was right. She would have to put her plans on hold for a while but it didn’t mean her life was over. It was just beginning.

She was determined to give this child everything she never had, a childhood. But a problem still remained…Shawn. How would he react? Was he ready to become a father? There was only one way to tell. She had to know, she had to ask.


	25. Cessation

“Anything else today, sir?” The SCPD operator asked. 

Cassidy was sitting on the kitchen, watching him raptly. She was against him calling in tips to the authorities, afraid they would become suspicious of his dead on information. She hated to admit it, but a big part of her was jealous of his gift. For him to simply see what others couldn’t, others like her who had to go through years of vigorous training just to get where he was. And yet, he made it look so simple. He indeed was remarkable. 

“Nope, that’s gonna do it.” Shawn said. “Oh, when can I expect to pick up my reward money?” 

“I have your information written down, Mr. Spencer.” The operator said. “You’ll be receiving a phone call if your tip turns out to be correct.” 

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” Shawn smirked. “I’m never wrong.” 

Shawn put down the receiver and got up from the couch and grabbed another hot dog from the hibachi, slapping it inside a bun already liberally smeared with condiments-including ketchup. 

“Rents paid!” 

She gave him a little frown. 

“Instead of just sitting on the couch watching crime scenes shown on news footage every night and relying on your gift to call in tips to the police for reward money to get you by through the month, why not do something productive and look for a full time job.” Cassidy said. 

Shawn stopped to think this over, as if the thought had never occurred to him. 

“Where’s the fun in that when I can just sit home and entertain myself by calling in tips.” Shawn said. “If you take a moment and think about it I am doing something productive. I’m solving crimes. I’m helping the police bring the bad guys to justice in the comfort of my own home.” 

Her jaw clenched at his words. His voice was so cool and detached and it made Cassidy want to scream in frustration. She didn’t like where this was going. 

“Calling in tips isn’t going to pay your rent forever, Shawn. Every month you’re barely scraping by. You’ve quit two jobs in less than a month because you grew bored.” she said, “If you want to solve crimes all day and actually get a decent pay check to pay why not become a Detective, it’s what you enjoy isn’t it? You’d be great at it.”

“I don’t want to be a cop, Cass. I even performed a petty crime to prove it back when I was eighteen.” He said, his voice now tinged with anger. 

He stared at her, stubbornly and angry. Unfortunately, Cassidy could be just as stubborn. 

Cassidy sighed and hopped off of the kitchen counter. 

“I don’t get you sometimes,” She said. “You don’t want to become a cop, yet you solve crimes all day in the ‘comfort of your own home’. I see how your face brightens when you’ve finally managed to put all the little pieces of the puzzle together. You can do it, Shawn. You know you can. I know you can.” 

“Why does it matter, I’m making it aren’t I?” Shawn growled as he faced away from her, running fingers through his hair in frustration.

“It matters to me, Shawn. Especially since I’m-“

Cassidy broke off, realization dawning on her. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t tell him. How could she possibly tell Shawn they were expecting a child when he himself was acting like one himself? 

She took a deep breath and said, “Tell me, Shawn. What do you see yourself doing in ten years?” 

"Do we really have to do this right now?" he said, exasperated that she was making something out of nothing.

"Yes we do," Cassidy answered, annoyed that he didn't think the conflict between them was all that important, especially since she had been worrying about the status between them all day. “Please, just answer the question.”

“How am I supposed to know,” he said with a humorless laugh as he pressed his fingertips to his temples. “I’m not psychic.”

Her heart sank at his words, anxiety turning into disappointment.

Trying not to show the hurt on her face, Cassidy plastered a smile on her face, determined to not let her distress show as she kept her smile in place. 

“It’s getting late,” she said, “I should head home.” 

Without another word, she left the apartment, closing the door quietly behind him, leaving Shawn alone.

Cassidy knew she had some serious decisions to make in the next couple of days. And whichever choice she made, it was going to change her life forever.

~ANTIQUITY~

She climbed into bed and desperately tried to fall asleep, to escape the pain and frustration for a while, but rest did not come and she lay awake while staring at the ceiling fan above her. 

Her mind kept running around and around, searching for an answer to the accumulating vortex of questions and unknowns, but all she succeeded in doing was tiring herself mentally. Yet sleep still eluded her. 

Her hands fisted in the sheets at the thought of Shawn not being in their child’s life. It was enough to make her throat tighten and her eyes sting with tears that threatened to fall.

Cassidy rolled over and huffed to herself, letting out a little of the pent up frustration she had been harboring all day.

Playing back the conversation over in her head, she knew for a fact Shawn wasn’t going to take the news well. The more she thought about her predicament, the closer she came to breaking down. She didn't want to lose Shawn. She wanted him to be there for her and their unborn child, but he still required a lot of growing up, when she herself had grown up a long time ago. 

She loved him, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized it wouldn't work. All she would be doing is tying him down. Her home was here and this was where she wanted to raise her child. She had no intentions of leaving Santa Clara. And once the baby was born, she intended to start and complete the Police Academy where she could officially start her career at the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Shawn on the other hand had no plan. Taking up a string of random jobs selected strictly for his own enjoyment and then just up and quitting wasn’t something this child needed in its life. The two were clearly walking down separate paths and if she wanted what was best for the child she knew what she had to do, even though the thought tore her apart. 

She rolled onto her back restlessly and willed herself to stop staring at the ceiling fan and instead shut her eyes. Gradually her breathing slowed, as did her racing thoughts and finally, Cassidy was asleep.

~ANTIQUITY~

Shawn rocked back on the heels of his feet as he eagerly waited for Cassidy to pull up outside the apartment complex. The night of their argument neither one had spoken to one another for a couple of days as Cassidy had some very serious soul searching to do. 

He had noticed the vibe between the two of them was undoubtedly different. She seemed distracted, moody and distant. He tried to ask her if something was wrong, but Cassidy insisted everything was fine. Then she went back to being a grump. 

And then was frequently an undercurrent of unnecessary seriousness running through her, but Shawn had never seen her in such a mood for longer than a day or so. Something was wrong. 

So, two clear the tension between them he called her the previous evening and apologized for anything he had said or done to make her upset with him and asked her out on another date. She agreed despite she had come down with another stomach bug.

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy had made her choice. Their relationship would end the moment they set foot at the carnival. It was simple as that. It would hurt her like hell, but it would be the best thing for her unborn child, and she took a small amount of comfort in that. She stood slowly, wiping away the remnants of her tears with the back of her hand. Turning on her heel, the expectant mother headed back downstairs to grab her keys. 

This was by far going to be the worst day of her life. 

~ANTIQUITY~ 

The colorful lights and the aroma of fried food filled the air as Shawn and Cassidy walked around at the carnival. “Hey babe, what do you want to get on first?” Shawn asked looking over at Cassidy, showing her his prize winning smile. 

He noticed Cassidy had been staring at her own feet as she walked, her pretty face now pale and scrunched into a worried expression.

“Cass, are you feeling okay? Are you cold?” He took off his jacket and draped it around her small form. 

“Thanks.” She mumbled. 

“Are you hungry? I can go for a churro or something to drink, possibly a pineapple smoothie.” 

“No thanks. I’m not all that hungry right now.” She said quietly 

“Are you sure?” Shawn said with concerned. “It might make you feel better?”

“I said I’m not hungry Shawn!” She snapped. 

"Hey," he said softly, grabbing her hand and bringing her to a stop, letting the growing evening crowds move around them. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” 

“I can’t do this, Shawn.” She said, her voice wavering unsteadily as if she were on the verge of tears. 

Shawn cocked his head to the side and smiled. 

“We don’t have to go on any of the rides if you don’t want to.” He said softly.

Cassidy shook her head, sending brown bangs into downcast eyes. 

“No, Shawn. It’s not that, I mean I can’t do this anymore, as in us.” 

Shawn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“What’s wrong with us? We’re doing great, Cass,” he said, with a humorless laugh. “Yeah, I know we bicker every now and then, but what couple doesn’t have their problems?”

She sniffled softly, finally raising her head to look at him with those captivating eyes and let out a shaky sigh. 

“It’s complicated, Shawn. There are just so many things I want to do with my life. I graduate in two weeks. And after that, I’ll be leaving for the police academy. I can’t do all those things with you. It’s not fair to ask that of you.” 

“Of course you can, Cass,” Shawn assured, frustration creeping into his voice. “You know I would do anything for you. I know I’ve been hopping around on jobs a lot lately, but I can stop. I’ll find something that I can stick with as long as I’m with you.” 

“Please understand, Shawn. I just don’t see a future with us in it.” 

“Cass.”

She went up to him and cupped his face with her hands and kissed him softly on the lips. When her lips left his and she pulled away, he saw that tears had cut glimmering tracks down her face.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed and took off running, leaving a broken hearted Shawn behind. 

~ANTIQUITY~

To say that Cassidy felt like dirt was an understatement. She felt lower than dirt. Fortunately, her house was not far away. She managed to get to her door and slip the key into the lock and let herself into her house. She slammed the door angrily and stormed up the stairs to her room, ignoring her mother’s confused calls to come back. 

Overwhelmed by grief and exhaustion, she threw his leather jacket onto the floor as she sank to her knees in the middle of her room. The tears came all at once in a flood she could not control, putting her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body.

All the times her father had called her stupid and useless hadn't hurt this bad. Seeing Zeke place the gun to Shawn’s head hadn't frightened her this much. 

Indulging in her tears, she cried, alone in the large, dim room. 

~ANTIQUITY~

Voicemail Message #1: 

“Cass, please call me back.” He said. “Let’s talk about this. I…I don’t know what I did wrong or what I said to make you want to end things between us.”

Voicemail Message #2:

“Come on, Cass. If this is your idea of a joke, you got me. You win.” He said with a humorless laugh. “You can come back now.”

Voicemail Message #3:

“Okay, this isn’t funny anymore.” He said. “You left me back there with no ride home. You could’ve at least dropped me back home, but no, I had to hitch a ride with a truck driver who I might add smelled horrible and ran his hand up my thigh. I was violated, Cass, violated!”

Voicemail Message #4:

“I can’t believe you would do this to me, to us.” He slurred. “I really thought we had something good going on. I loved you! I got my ass kicked to be with you and then you just throw me away as if I was yesterday’s newspaper.”

Voicemail Message #5:

“It was your dad wasn’t it?” What did he say to you? W-what am I-I not good enough for his little girl?” He slurred. “Oh, that’s right. I never was. Guess he won, because you dumped me!”

Voicemail Message #6:

"You think you'll find someone better?" he growled, his voice low and primal. "Well sweetie, I beg to differ. You're never going to find someone who can touch you better than I can. Just remember…I had you first.”

Voicemail Message #7:

He let out a defeated sigh.

“I guess you don’t want to talk to me anymore, huh?” He said. “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you anymore. This will be the last time you have to hear from me. See ya, Cass.”

~ANTIQUITY~

Now that Cassidy was not longer in Shawn’s life, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He certainly didn't feel like interacting with anybody, let alone visit his favorite places, because that meant reliving the months he’d spent with Cassidy. He'd have to remember the euphoria that was unlike any other as he made love to her for the first time, and the second, and the third. He had to experience, the terror of finding her, the fear of losing her to those two thugs, only to realize she would never really be his. The wide spectrum of intense emotions was just too much for him to take. He just wanted to be numb for a while and feel nothing at all.

He made his way home and into his apartment and peeled off his clothes and got in the shower, standing under the hot spray until it turned cold. While the warmth eased his muscles and washed the grime from his body, it could not wash away thoughts of Cassidy or ease his troubled mind. He got out, toweled off and pulled on a faded pair of black sweat pants. He jumped into bed, intent on spending the rest of the day lazily watching television. 

Not even thirty minutes in, he realized his television had become a torture device, watching about the act of love inevitably sparked thoughts of Cassidy. He couldn't help but long to touch her the way the hero touched his lover in the movie. His heart ached at the knowledge that he would never be able to touch Cassidy again, that he could never kiss her or hold her or know that for just a moment, he was the center of her universe.

He put down the remote and tried to sleep, but his small bed suddenly seemed far too big for just one person. It would be so much cozier with Cassidy at his side.

With a groan he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to keep his thoughts free of the brown haired woman, but failing. He proceeded to lay there, minutes stretching to hours, until sleep finally claimed him. Even then he could not escape, because his dreams were haunted by her beautiful golden eyes.

~ANTIQUITY~

Shawn was awake long before the sun rose. He tried to go back to sleep but his mind was too full of thoughts of his former girlfriend to relax, so he laid awake until his room was flooded with the blue gray light of morning. He was exhausted, but could not sleep, instead passing the time staring at the ceiling and hoping sleep would claim him.

If he let his eyes go out of focus, the bumps and ridges in the textured ceiling melded to form shapes and objects. It was a game he sometimes played when he couldn't sleep, and he would let his imagination take over as tiny patches of light and shadow became animals and people and whatever else he could dream up. However, the game only served to torture him more, because all he could see was Cassidy. He saw her face, her eyes. Even when Shawn shut his eyes tight, the visions remained. She was burned on the back of his eyelids, vibrant and beautiful.

Rather than stay in his apartment and slowly drive himself mad, Shawn dressed and slipped out and onto his motorcycle. The city was starting to wake up and there were a few people out and about in their cars, but Shawn paid them no mind as his bike whizzed by on its own accord as if it knew where it were going even if its master did not.

He had to clear his head, had to lock up all the tangled emotions that were winding their way around his mind and heart. He needed to get over Cassidy and fast, but as his mind replayed the events the night of the carnival, he failed to notice the Toyota Camry running a red light. 

A second passed, and Shawn realized he hadn’t been smashed against the windshield like a bug. He opened his eyes and saw the car keep going behind him. He did it. He flew. He looked down at his ankles to see if wings had miraculously sprouted there. 

There were of course no wings. But that wasn’t the problem. He’d lived this long without feathered ankles. The real problem was the other thing he didn’t see down there. 

The road. 

~ANTIQUITY~

The asphalt was surprisingly soft under Shawn’s back. Shawn stretched out a hand and probed the ground with his fingers. The asphalt compressed under his touch as if it were stuffed with down. 

Shawn tried to understand what was happening. There was a faint possibility that he had developed super strength to go along with his newfound ability to fly. But the aches and muscles, the pounding in his head, and the screaming pain from his knee and rib cage were suggesting strongly that he was not about to be sworn into the Legion of Superheroes. What made it far more likely that what he was feeling under him was actually not the road where he’d fallen. He probed the surface again, and this time recognized the slip of sheet over mattress. 

He was in a bed. But how did he get there? He might convince himself that he’d dreamed the whole thing. Using all the strength he could muster, Shawn forced his eyelids open. A giant head filled his vision, dark brows nearly brushing his own eyeballs. Shawn let out a scream. 

The giant head screamed, too, and moved away quickly. Shawn’s eyes fought to focus. 

“Dude, you’re awake,” Gus said. 

Shawn squinted against the light and was able to make out Gus’ beaming face over his. 

“I was just checking to see if you were still breathing,” Gus said. 

“Gus?” he murmured in awe. “You’re here?”

Gus nodded meekly as hazel eyes grew wide in disbelief. 

“I came as soon as I got the news,” Gus replied. 

For the first time, it occurred to Shawn to wonder exactly where he was. He managed to shift his eyes away from Gus’ face, even his ocular muscles aching with the strain, to see the dull fluorescent tube throbbing on the ceiling, the small TV bolted to the wall, the cheery sailboat painting hanging over the institutional sink. He flexed his fingers over his chest and noticed that his button-down plaid shirt had been replaced with a flimsy sheath of slick, flameproof polyester. 

“Buddy, I’m in the hospital?”

Before Gus could answer, Shawn heard the sound of a door opening across the room. 

“Gus?” It was a man’s voice. He knew that voice. 

“I got the paper,” The male voice said. 

Gus moved out of the way and, Shawn’s entire field of vision was filled with the man he’d slowly come to despise, but right now, he couldn’t be happier to see him. His dad. 

“Shawn?” Henry breathed out as the paper dropped to the floor in a heap. “We were so worried. When I got the call from the hospital, I thought my heart was going to stop.” 

“Hey pops.” Shawn said.

Henry sat on the bed next to Shawn, sending a shock wave through the mattress that made all Shawn’s muscles scream in pain. He started to pat his son on the shoulder, but Shawn’s obvious flinch made him reconsider. 

"Dad," he said, as resolutely as possibly, keeping his gaze steady. "Can…I mean…will you…”

Henry looked at his son expectantly as Shawn took a deep breath and tried again, forcing himself to speak the words that seemed so alien, and yet brought the promise of something new and wonderful.

"Dad, I want to come home.” 

~ANTIQUITY~

The first two weeks after Shawn and Cassidy’s break up were the hardest on the future Agent. The night of the break up was the worst. Shawn had left her several heartbreaking voicemails. She then proceeded to destroy everything in her room that reminded her of him. Now all she wanted to do was stay locked in her room and cry. 

For the first week her mother did her best to comfort her daughter in her time of need as she ran a hand through her hair, whispering soothing words to her as she wept on her lap until she fell asleep. 

On the night of her high school graduation, Cassidy didn’t bother to show. Becca stopped by to deliver her diploma, trying her best to cheer her friend up, but even she couldn’t sway Cassidy’s damper mood. That is until her father grew aggravated of the situation and decided to put his foot down. 

"Get up," David said as peeled the comforter off from Cassidy and tossed it onto the bedroom floor. “Now.” 

Cassidy reached over and grabbed the covers off from the floors and tugged them over her head and groaned. 

“Go away,” She muttered. 

She tried to go back to sleep, but her father was a persistent bastard. With a growl, David tore the covers off from her bed once more and discarded them by the bedroom door. She wanted to do was lie in bed and pretend the world outside didn't exist, but she knew that was impractical. 

“I’m not going to tell you again, Cassidy,” he said, “You’ve had plenty of time to sulk. Now it’s time to get up.” 

There was no sense of sympathy in his voice. David was determined to get his daughter up and out of this room. He was tired of hearing his little girl cry herself to sleep every night over a mere boy. This was exactly why he didn’t want her dating. 

He went to the bathroom that was connected to Cassidy’s room and turned on the hot water in the bathroom. He then went to her closet and set out a clean set of clothes before going back to stand in front of the bed. "Now, Cassidy.”

“Leave me alone, I don’t-“

“I don’t want to hear it,” he growled. “Get your ass up, get ready and let’s get ready to work.” 

Cassidy rolled over to face her father and glared. "I'm tired and I want to sleep."

“No, you’re pissed off and heartbroken.” He said. “But laying here in bed crying all day isn’t going to fix the problem. It’s just going to make you feel worse. Now get up, get cleaned up and let’s head down to the gun range.”

She tried to muster enthusiasm to greet the day, but only succeeded in getting on her feet and staggering to the bathroom in a gait that would have put the undead to shame. She made it to the bathroom and tried to avoid looking at herself in the mirror, knowing her haggard, bed-headed reflection would only depress her more. 

The last thing she wanted to do was go out into public, especially since her hair looked like it had been styled with a blender and her under eye circles probably resembled those of a raccoon. But the allure of a hot shower was too tempting. 

She was determined not to think about Shawn, but she found that the more she told herself not to think about him, the more she inadvertently thought of him. She told herself not to think of his soft lips, but then remembered the kisses he would press to the back of her neck. She didn't want to think about his strong arms, but then recalled what it was like to be held by him. And she especially refused to think about the way he made love to her, but she could swear she could still feel the lingering caresses of his fingertips.

With a growl of frustration, Cassidy made a fist and punched at the wall tile like a little child throwing a tantrum. Damn Shawn and his kissable lips and muscular arms! It was so miserably unfair that she couldn't just forget about him and move on. She was in love and she hated it! If she had learned anything from this experience, it was that love was the worst thing that could happen to a girl and it should be avoided at all costs.

~ANTIQUITY~

She’d miss Shawn. She already did. He wanted to run and play and joke and bicker, and these were not behaviors that were appreciated in the adult world she’d moved into. 

She took a step into the room and let the door swing shut behind her. It hit its frame with a bang, and every head swiveled to look at her. She gave them a little wave and moved away from the door. 

The entire class turned to follow her. 

She glanced over her shoulder to see if someone more interesting had slipped in behind her, but unless someone in the expectant parenting class was desperate to buy the used sofa, bed and dining table advertised on a flyer above the light switch, there was nothing that could garner such rapt attention.

Cassidy looked back at the crowd. They were still staring at her.

For a moment, the class was completely still. Then it erupted into murmurs. The instructor let the noise build, and then held up her hand for quiet. 

“Glad you could join us,” the instructor smiled. “Do you have a partner or will it just be you?”

Partner?! Cassidy thought. Mom never said anything about having a partner!

Before she could figure out what to do, the door behind her swung shut once again, and for the first time since she’d come into the building people turned away from her to watch Miller enter the room.

Cassidy’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. 

“Sorry I’m late, got held up at work.” Miller said. 

Finally she said with a humorless laugh. “No, No, No, a million times no!”

“Is this your partner?” The instructor asked quizzically. 

“No!”

“Yes.” 

“Look, we’re going to be partners one day. Now is a good time as any for us to get to know one another a little more.” He whispered to Cassidy. “Besides, you don’t have a partner. And by the look of things, you’re the only one here without one and I’m great with kids. Come on, whaddaya say, partner?” 

Cassidy nodded mutely, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning aloud. 

I seriously have to be the worst person in the world.

~ANTIQUITY~ 

8 months later…

Cassidy couldn’t breathe, couldn't think as wave after wave of intense pain assaulted her. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, powerful and raw and bordering on unbearable. Colors danced across her vision, blended, melded to make new ones she had never seen, before mixing with black and erupting into showers of stars. It was too much, and her body couldn't take it.

“Okay, Cassidy. This is it. Are you ready?” The doctor asked.

“I can’t…I can’t do this.” She sobbed, words broken by her harsh breaths. 

“Sweetheart, I know this has been a very long and painful labor,” her mother said. “I know you’re exhausted, but it’s almost over. I promise.” 

Cassidy nodded weakly. 

“All right, Cassidy. I need you to bear down and push. All right? Here we go.” 

“Okay.” Cassidy panted, gripping the sheets so hard her knuckles were white.

“Push! Push! Push!” The doctor ordered.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Her mother said. “You can do it!” 

“Alright. Alright. The doctor said. “Give me one more giant push, all right? I need the shoulder out. And push!” 

Her golden eyes squeezed shut as she pushed her first born out with all her might. 

“That’s good. That’s good.” The doctor said. “Don’t stop pushing Cassidy, you’re almost there!”

Even though Cassidy managed to open her eyes during some point throughout her pushing, she couldn't see anything but blackness, the pain tunneling her vision until a dark void remained in front of her eyes. Her mind was blank, thoughts useless, as every cell of her being was awash in searing pain. Unable to process it all, her body shut down, her screams growing silent as she slipped into unconsciousness.

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy awoke feeling sore and stiff, no doubt from the intense thirteen hour birth she had just gone through Only when she heard the sound of her newborn baby’s cry did she manage to crack an eye. 

“Congratulations, mommy,” her mother whispered. “It’s a girl.” 

She slowly sat up and shifted her weight, wincing at the acute pain between her legs. 

“Oh, there she is. Hi.” Cassidy said softly as her mother placed her newborn baby into her arms for the first time. “Hi, baby girl. Hello Hailey, I’m your mommy.”

“Hailey. I love it.” Her mother smiled. 

Cassidy had to blink back the joyful tears that threatened to fall. 

“She looks a lot like Shawn you know?” Cassidy smiled. “She even has his eyes.”

Evelyn shared her smiled. 

“She does resemble him a lot, doesn’t she?” She giggled. 

Cassidy’s smile slowly faded as a fresh wave of guilt washed over her. “I wanted him to be here so bad, mom.” She said. “I hate myself for not telling him about her.” 

“Sweetheart, you did what you thought was best for Hailey.” Evelyn said. “This is what you wanted.”

Cassidy nodded as she stared down at her daughter. “I know.” She whispered. “But it pains me to know that she’ll never get to know who her father was.”

“Just know you’re not alone, Cassidy.” Evelyn said. “You have your father and I, and let’s not forget Erik.” 

Cassidy nodded, giving her a half hearted smile that didn't reach her golden eyes.

“I love you so much, Hailey.” She said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You’re the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And I promise, I will never let anything or anyone hurt you. You have my word.”

**Author's Note:**

> Review/Kuddos.


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